The Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) has paid EGP 27.3bn in dues to the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) in exchange for fuel withdrawals for production plants from July 2019 to January 2020.
Sources at the EEHC told Daily News Egypt that the total late receivables with the Ministry of Petroleum until last December exceeded EGP 165bn.
The Ministry of Finance bears part of the debt owed on the electricity sector for the benefit of some creditors, such as the National Investment Bank, and the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.
The Finance Ministry is also obligated to bear the burden of the total electricity bill due on the state budget apparatus, which is approved on a quarterly basis by the Central Accountability Organisation, followed by a cash payment by the Ministry of Finance, while the unpaid portion of the electricity bill is debited to the Ministry of Finance in favour of The Ministry of Electricity.
Egypt produces about 6.8bn scf/day, and about 300m feet per day are used inside the fields for the extraction equipment, with the rest of the production being directed to the local market, and power plants account for 61% of the total amount of gas directed to the local market.
The sources pointed out that the total arrears of the EEHC with government and private agencies until the end of November of last year amounted to EGP 57bn, including EGP 32.7bn in arrears on government agencies, and EGP 10.8bn on water companies.
Arrears also include EGP 7bn on the business sector, and the total arrears in the public sector are about EGP 3.3bn, while arrears amounting to EGP 3.5bn are with other parties.
The EEHC had entered into an agreement with a number of business sector companies to schedule the due arrears, and the agreement included the payment of a portion of the amounts due and scheduling the remainder over several years with a commitment to pay the monthly consumption bill.
The sources emphasised that the EEHC raises the efficiency of operation and reduces fuel consumption rates, which saves a lot of money to the state, explaining that using 191 grams of fuel oil per kilowatt hour saves EGP 288m annually.
