Egypt electricity sector owes LE80 billion in fuel payment arrears

Egypt’s electricity sector owes a total of LE80 billion ($11.2 billion) in arrears for oil products supplied by the country’s petroleum ministry, state-run news agency MENA reported on Sunday.

Electric power generation in the country of 87 million is still largely reliant on fossil fuels such as natural gas, mazut, and diesel.

Electricity production accounts for some 67 percent of domestic consumption of natural gas, of which Egypt became a net importer in recent years, as slowing production has failed to keep up with rising local demand.

The government set feed-in tariffs for renewable energy production for the first time in September, in an effort to diversify the sources of power generation through private sector investment.

Last month, the ministry of petroleum also vowed to pay the $4.9 billion in arrears owed to foreign oil and gas firms operating in Egypt within six months, to stimulate exploration and production, which had all but ground to a halt in recent years.