ALAMEIN, Egypt, June 24 (MENA) - President Abdel Fattah El Sisi underlined the importance of intensifying government efforts to lure more investments into the renewable energy sector and sustain supplies to the national electricity grid as well as the industrial and service sectors.

He also urged stepping up efforts to accomplish existing projects aimed at improving the efficiency of the energy system.

He also directed to proceed with efforts to enhance electricity services for various uses across all governorates, and to improve the national grid’s capacity to meet the expected increase in consumption through continuous modernization of generation plants, transmission and distribution networks, and control centers.

He called for maximizing the benefits from new and renewable energy, stressing the importance of localizing industries related to renewable energy projects.

This came during a meeting held in Alamein city between President Sisi and Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mahmoud Esmat.

Presidential spokesperson Mohamed El-Shennawy stated that the meeting reviewed the progress of the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy’s work plan, focusing on the energy mix, renewable energy usage and storage batteries.

The meeting also touched on underway efforts to improve energy quality and efficiency, rationalize consumption as well as the economic operation of power plants to achieve fuel savings.

The meeting also addressed improvements of the national electricity grid through interconnection projects, enhancing transmission networks to integrate new capacities, promoting distribution networks’ efficiency, and reducing losses.

Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Esmat reviewed his ministry’s measures to improve services, including coordination with the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources to meet gas and fuel needs for power plants, regular follow-up on maintenance and operation programs, combating electricity theft, reducing losses in the grid, and introducing about 2,000 megawatts of new renewable energy capacity with investments around $2.3 billion.

The spokesperson added that the meeting also discussed efforts to localize manufacturing of equipment needed for electrical and new and renewable energy projects, including coordination with major foreign companies manufacturing storage batteries and wind turbines to localize these industries in Egypt.

The minister reviewed the ongoing efforts to enhance the national grid, especially through maximizing the use of renewable energy resources.

He noted that the currently installed renewable energy capacities of wind, solar, and hydro sources stood at 8,031 megawatts.

The meeting also reviewed projections for renewable energy capacities by 2030 according to the integrated and sustainable energy strategy, as well as expected solar and wind capacities to be introduced to Egypt’s electricity grid by June 2028.

Furthermore, the meeting covered efforts to improve energy efficiency at power plants and the savings achieved by changing operational patterns.

The talks also tackled the progress realized so far in the Dabaa nuclear power plant project as well as the Egyptian-Saudi electricity interconnection project with a capacity of 3,000 megawatts at $1.8 billion investments.

The meeting took up as well efforts to implement the Egyptian-Greek electricity interconnection project. (MENA)
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