Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (Egas) has suspended gas supply to 78 per cent of the country’s fertiliser plants as it priorities fuel for electricity generation.

Since the beginning of Ramadan, gas supplies have been suspended to the plants of Apec, Misr Fertilisers Production Company (Mopco), Helwan, Al-Masriya 1 and Al-Masriya 2, Alexandria, and El-Nasr for Fertilisers and Chemical Industries.

According to an anonymous Egas official cited by English-language news agency Daily News Egypt, fuel supplies to these facilities will remain offline until the end of Ramadan.

As temperatures have increased and air-conditioning use has risen, Egypt has seen higher demand for electricity, putting extra pressure on state institutions that were already struggling to supply enough fuel for the country’s power stations.

Egypt is currently enduring its worst energy shortage in decades as population expansion drives increasing consumption of natural gas, while domestic production declines.