The government is preparing to raise electricity prices by as much as 28% before the end of March 2026, marking one of the steepest hikes in recent years amid mounting fuel costs, two officials at the Ministry of Electricity told Al Manassa.
Commercial consumers will likely bear the brunt first, with households to follow, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to comment publicly.
One of the officials, who works on electricity pricing policy, said the ministry has instructed electricity companies to submit updated cost estimates for both conventional and renewable energy production in 2026. These figures will form the basis of the new pricing scheme. The second source, an official at a state-owned electricity company, confirmed the request.
Although Electricity Minister Mahmoud Esmat denied plans for price hikes as recently as October—stating that “there is no intention to raise tariffs until the end of 2025”—internal preparations indicate a different reality. The current pricing scheme was last updated by Electricity Utility and Consumer Protection Agency starting August FY 2024/2025.
The first official said the ministry is set to meet with the Ministry of Petroleum in the coming weeks to assess fuel procurement costs for power plants. Fuel represents roughly 60% of the total cost of generating electricity in Egypt.
While the government had initially considered a 20–25% increase earlier this year, a spike in gas consumption has since pushed officials to consider sharper hikes for higher consumption brackets—potentially reaching 28%, the source added.
The second official noted that power plants are currently consuming about 3.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily, in addition to large quantities of fuel oil (mazut) when necessary. This marks a significant jump from the 2.8 to 3.1 billion cubic feet per day recorded in previous years.
Asked about the timing of the increase during an energy efficiency conference on Tuesday, Esmat sidestepped the question, telling Al Manassa “just pray for us.”
