Cash-Strapped Egypt Swelters as Power Outages Pile on the Pain
- State enacts load-shedding agenda after two weeks of blackouts
- Shortages are latest twist in Arab nation’s economic crisis
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Already mired in its worst economic plight in years, Egypt is reckoning with another challenge it hasn’t seen for a decade: sporadic power cuts in the midst of a sweltering summer.
With temperatures in many parts of the North African country exceeding 100F (37.8C), Egyptians are again getting used to their lights and air-conditioning flicking out. Authorities blame unprecedented pressure on the grid and unforeseen shortages of the fuel needed to generate electricity for Egypt’s more than 104 million people.