Egypt's small businesses condemn early closure of shops amid energy crisis

Government decision lambasted as country's underprivileged highlight disparities in power supply between richer and poorer regions

People cool off by the Nile at night during high temperatures in Cairo, as the government comes under fire from a sweltering public. Bloomberg

Egypt’s small business owners have responded with anger to the government’s recent decision to close shops early, which came into effect on Monday, as part of a state plan to reduce power usage due to energy shortages.

The decision to shut all shops, cafes and restaurants at 10pm each night was announced last week by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly in a speech that was profusely apologetic to the public for the enforced daily power cuts.

Pharmacies and supermarkets are permitted to stay open until 1am under the new directive, which, according to Mr Madbouly, was issued to allow the government to prioritise power usage for homes instead.

However, shop owners, already suffering from high operating costs on account of record high levels of inflation, have condemned the decision because it reduces their hours of business.

“How ridiculous is it to issue a decision like that when people are screaming from the cost of living?” said Omar Ismail, 29, whose family runs a clothes shop in Cairo’s lower-income Matareya district.

The country’s small businesses, said Mr Ismail, especially those in poorer areas, have already been dealing with markedly reduced revenue since the start of the regular power cuts last summer, when the government said it was prioritising gas exports to Europe at the expense of local demand.

The government said the move was intended to remedy a more pressing foreign exchange shortage that continues to hinder output in more Egyptian industries.

Small business owners find the decision and the power cuts particularly unfair because, unlike their larger counterparts at malls or upscale residential compounds, they cannot afford generators to keep operating during the power cuts.

“I cannot compete with a clothing store inside a mall where there is air conditioning and continuous power, I am losing business day by day and I fear they will take all my business if this continues,” Mr Ismail said.

"Where would I find customers who will visit my shop during the day in this heat? It's summer, most customers come out at night when it cools down."

Tamer Ibrahim, 38, a supermarket owner in Cairo’s Al Zawya Al Hamra district, a densely populated lower-income neighbourhood, told The National that since the return of power cuts last year, his frozen produce has been perishing sooner than it used to.

“The owners of chain supermarkets like Metro and Seoudi don’t have this problem,” he said.

Some have highlighted a discrepancy in the duration of power cuts between affluent neighbourhoods, many of which continue to enjoy uninterrupted supply.

Three Cairo residents, who live in the neighbourhoods of Al Shorouk, Al Obour and Heliopolis, told The National their power supply did not cut out at all on Sunday.

Ali Al Minyawy, who lives in Heliopolis, an area that houses the presidential palace, said his power has been cut only once in the past year, he said.

Such discrepancies could increase resentment between Egypt’s classes, with poorer segments believing they bear the brunt of the country’s woes at a time when they are struggling to afford basic necessities.

That the restrictions on power in the capital coincide with the start of the summer in the country’s infamously expensive North Coast resorts, which are regularly depicted lit up in social media videos posted by affluent visitors, has only added to the outcry among poorer Egyptians.

"Why would they take power away from businesses and not from resorts in the North Coast, where it looks like midday at midnight from all the lights that never go out?” said Mr Ismail.

“Why are compounds always lit up? Why not shut their power down at the same time as the rest of the country and allow us to keep doing our work?”

When routine power cuts returned to Egypt last summer, after years of the government boasting of an electricity surplus which it was planning to export, the Prime Minister said it was because temperatures had been unusually high and officials had not planned for this when stocking up fuel for the summer.

After Mr Madbouly used those same reasons on Wednesday, a wave of criticism across Egyptian society and widespread accusations of government failure ensued.

Several reports of power-related incidents and deaths have also led to widening discontent.

In April, the BBC reported the death of an Egyptian man who attempted to escape from a lift in which he became stuck during a power cut and fell a number of floors. Since April, numerous live-streams by Egyptians stuck in lifts have been shared on social media.

On Sunday, an Egyptian man died of carbon-monoxide poisoning after sitting in his parked car for hours to make use of its air conditioner and escape the heat during power cuts.

The death was the third such incident in a week, reported Al Watan, a state-affiliated newspaper.

Incidents of robberies related to the power cuts have also been reported. Cairo24, a state-affiliated news outlet, on Monday said a man had been electrocuted to death in the affluent residential community in New Cairo while attempting to cut the power lines to a villa, which he reportedly intended to rob.

Mr Madbouly said the government had allocated $1.18 billion for fuel imports during the summer months.