CAIRO: Mahmoud Awad, head of Egypt’s Electricity Holding Company, denied reports that the lack of regular maintenance to a major electricity line has led to a blackout in a number of Upper Egyptian governorates.
Aktham Abul-Elaa, the official spokesman for the Ministry of Electricity, said in a statement to the local press that he does not know what caused the power outages, adding that the ministry is investigating a range of possibilities such as those relating to the periodic maintenance in the line.
He also said that it may have been the result of a fire that broke out in a sugar-cane field near Nagaa Hammadi.
The Upper Egypt Company for Electricity Distribution concurred.
A representative of the operations department, who preferred to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak to the press, denied claims that the power was out for a few days, adding that the electricity problems lasted for “merely minutes .
