State-run electricity production companies began to exchange unused spare parts in their stores for maintenance, replacement, and renovation works.
An official in the ministry of electricity informed Daily News Egypt that the decision aims to ration expenses, control purchases, facilitate spare parts trading, and save time spent in this process. The decision is expected to save EGP 1bn annually.
He explained that each company buys its required spare parts separately, and some spare parts can stay unused for over six months in the company’s store, while other companies may need the same parts and would buy it, which costs the state more time and money.
The number of spare parts exchanged among electricity production companies so far reached 100 parts and this figure is expected to increase in the coming period coinciding with the current maintenance works in different companies.
The Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) has established a unified manual for specifications and codes in all electricity companies, automated the organisation of spare parts in stores, and coordinated the procurement system of different companies.
Furthermore, the EEHC has suspended electricity production in a number of units after achieving a surplus due to the decline in consumption.
Sources in the EEHC said that this decision aims to ration the ministry’s expenses, stressing that all the stalled units can resume operation at any time.
The maximum consumption of electricity per day in Egypt is 24,000 MW. The EEHC usually suspends some production units in this period of the year since consumption in winter is lower than in summer.
The EEHC has great hopes for the establishment of national and industrial projects to employ high electricity capacities, besides its plans to export energy to a number of neighbouring countries, including Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Cyprus, Greece, and Jordan. The company said that the national grid’s spinning reserves shall stand at 10-15% of production.
