Egypt Daily News – Governorates across Egypt have launched a wide-reaching awareness campaign titled “Consume Only What You Need,” aimed at raising public awareness about the importance of energy conservation and promoting responsible electricity usage.
The campaign follows recent statements by the Prime Minister stressing the urgent need for effective measures to curb electricity consumption and avoid potential power outages during the current period, especially in light of the ongoing regional tensions stemming from the Iran-Israel conflict.
In response, the Ministry of Local Development issued directives to governors, underscoring the importance of conserving electricity and enforcing local administrative regulations on the opening and closing hours of commercial establishments. The goal is to reduce energy usage and avoid resorting to load-shedding.
The ministry affirmed that strict instructions were distributed to all governorates and clarified that there will be no changes to the official closing times for shops, malls, cafés, restaurants, and supermarkets nationwide. The summer schedule remains in effect: shops close at 11 PM on weekdays and at midnight on weekends and public holidays.
Authorities have also called for ongoing inspection campaigns to ensure compliance with these conservation efforts, especially regarding closing hours and the lighting of streets and government facilities after official working hours.
In line with the ministry’s directive, awareness campaigns have been launched across cities and villages. In Giza, Governor Eng. Adel Al-Naggar confirmed that the campaign is part of a comprehensive national plan to address current energy challenges. The governorate promptly began implementing the following measures:
- Reducing street and road lighting by 60% without compromising traffic safety.
- Shutting down electricity and devices in government buildings daily from 8 PM.
- Banning illuminated billboards between 9 PM and midnight.
- Enforcing commercial closing times in line with Cabinet regulations.
- Dimming daytime lighting in public squares, event venues, and select shops, while ensuring air conditioners are switched off before staff leave offices.
- Taking any further actions that contribute to effective energy conservation.
The governor also noted that the province’s operations rooms are operating around the clock to monitor on-the-ground implementation of these measures, in coordination with local authorities and the national control center, to ensure the campaign achieves its objectives.
Following Giza’s initiative, other governorates have begun announcing and executing similar energy-saving plans in accordance with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly’s directives, which aim to curb electricity consumption until the current regional crisis subsides.
The Ministry of Local Development continues to monitor the campaign through a central operations room to ensure full compliance across all governorates.
