Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity has converted only about 92,200 coded electricity meters into standard meters, roughly 10% of the 904,000 building violation reconciliation applications approved as of the start of this month, a ministry source told Al Manassa.
The ministry plans to complete all approved conversions during the 2026-2027 fiscal year, a push that could move hundreds of thousands of properties onto permanent, formally registered electricity service. Most approved applications are in areas outside Cairo, said the source, who requested anonymity.
The ministry also recently found that 150,000 coded meters had been installed in buildings with no violations, the source said. It ordered those meters converted immediately without requiring owners to go through the normal reconciliation process.
A coded meter is linked to a property through a unique code rather than being registered in a customer’s name. Such meters are used in buildings that violate construction rules and have replaced an older system that billed customers based on estimated consumption.
Since April, the ministry has applied a single tariff to coded meters, raising electricity costs for many consumers and prompting widespread complaints.
A document reviewed by Al Manassa showed that about 71% of approved reconciliation applications fell under electricity distribution companies serving areas outside Cairo: Canal, North Delta, South Delta, and Middle Egypt. The rest were divided among North Cairo, South Cairo, Beheira, Upper Egypt, and Alexandria.
To speed up conversions, the ministry has dropped the requirement for applicants to submit a “no objection” letter from local authorities. Instead, applicants can provide reconciliation documents such as Form 8 or the final Form 10, which the ministry accepts as sufficient to begin reviewing applications.
The ministry is also applying the existing “Code 398 mechanism” to streamline cases. Under this system, people holding reconciliation documents (Forms 7, 8, or 10) can receive compliance certificates without undergoing new inspections. Once reconciliation is complete, they can move forward with legal utility connections.
Through Code 398, the ministry issues official letters to electricity, water, and gas companies. These letters authorize the replacement of temporary coded meters with permanent ones, allowing households to finalize their utility connections legally.
The Egyptian Electricity Holding Company aims to install about 2.5 million prepaid meters by the end of the 2026-2027 fiscal year, after bringing the total number installed to about 22.9 million as of June 30.
