Several neighborhoods in Giza endured a 20-hour blackout and water cut amid soaring temperatures, after a major power cable failure disrupted services. Officials had restored electricity and water by Sunday night, but many residents reported ongoing outages and food losses.
Renewed problems occurred on Monday night, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office issued Tuesday morning. Two cable failures at the Dahab Island transformer substation are being dealt with using 60 mobile generators for vital facilities, while emergency work continues to complete repairs.
The crisis began with the sudden failure of an underground high-voltage cable near Sakiyat Mekki metro station, halting operations at the main drinking water station and damaging the Dahab Island transformer substation, the electricity ministry said. Mahmoud Esmat, minister of electricity and renewable energy, visited the repair site.
On Sunday night, Giza Governorate announced repairs to the 66kW high-power cable were complete and the resumption of power and water to affected areas, including public facilities.
Apologizing for the disruption, the governorate said it took “urgent measures to stabilize services.” But while three residents in Giza and El-Haram told Al Manassa that conditions had improved, four others in Omraneya, Munib, Faisal and Khatem El-Morsaleen reported intermittent returns of electricity and water.
“My meat, chicken, and frozen vegetables are all spoiled,” said Eman Ali from Faisal, who said her power was out for over 19 hours. “The entire month’s food supply is gone.”
Farida Kamel in Omraneya said her neighborhood was without electricity for 20 consecutive hours. “I had to take my groceries to my sister’s in El-Wayli so they wouldn’t spoil,” she said.
Ahmed Selim in Munib said the power returned briefly Sunday night but cut out again. “As of 1:30 pm Monday, we still have no electricity.”
Parliament member Ehab Mansour blamed poor crisis management and decades-old infrastructure. “Despite the workers’ efforts, this must not happen again,” he told Al Manassa. He called on the electricity ministry to develop an emergency plan and provide backup systems for water stations.
Residents also demanded compensation. “Supermarkets lost thousands of pounds in perishable goods,” said Ibrahim Shedid from Giza, rejecting the governorate’s apology.
Reda Mostafa in El-Haram echoed the sentiment, saying the two-day disruption exposed major governance flaws. “What would happen if we were at war?” he asked.
Mansour urged affected citizens to submit claims to the governorate and said a response team in Omraneya is receiving complaints. “I’ve been on the ground since the outage began and haven't been home for two days,” he added.
