Egypt: Electricity Cutbacks Threaten Rights

Egypt: Electricity Cutbacks Threaten Rights

The Egyptian government is limiting electricity use with daily power cutbacks nationwide, putting people’s economic and social rights at risk, Human Rights Watch said today.

The cuts appear to last longer in rural areas, which have higher poverty rates, and have left many people without power amid soaring temperatures, hindering their ability to perform their jobs, including for some medical workers, and limiting access to water. The government should recognize everyone’s right to clean, accessible, and affordable electricity.

“Egypt’s government has long demanded implicitly that Egyptians sacrifice their civil and political rights in return for economic prosperity,” said Adam Coogle, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “But electricity cuts dramatically reduce people’s ability to realize their rights including to food, water, and health care.”

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said that the cuts, which began on July 22, 2023, following a week of sudden blackouts, are to reduce pressure on the country’s electricity infrastructure due to increased demand. However, government officials have also said that the electricity crisis was caused by an inadequate gas supply to run power plants. The government has been planning at least since August 2022 to ration electricity to enable the government to export natural