Government seeks to use surplus electricity in construction, operation of desalination plants

Mohamed Farag
2 Min Read

The Egyptian government seeks to use its surplus electricity production in the construction and operation of new desalination plants to bridge the potential water gap in Egypt.

Government sources said that Egypt’s surplus electricity production currently stands at 6,000 MW per day, and will increase to 10,000 MW in the summer, benefiting from the added capacities from Siemens’ new power plants in the New Administrative Capital, Brulus, and Beni Suef.

The sources added that the government is currently in talks with five international companies, including Schneider Electric and Siemens AG, to establish desalination plants in cooperation with the Armed Forces Engineering Authority.

The government seeks to expand in the construction of desalination plants in the coastal governorates to meet the growing needs of fresh water. The planned plants aim to produce 1m cubic metres of desalinated seawater per day within three years.

The Egyptian Electricity Holding Company has developed a new strategy to deal with the surplus of electricity production, while a large number of power plants will work at half-capacity to avoid wasting electricity production. Some production units will be halted for maintenance, provided that the production capacity meets the market’s needs.

The government will also close all old power plants with lifetimes that exceed 30 years, especially as Egypt’s reserves or surplus electricity production will increase significantly after the commercial operation of all Siemens’ plants in Beni Suef, Brulus, and the New Administrative Capital.

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