Mediterranean Action Plan

EGYPT - National study
achievements, and assesses impacts and accumulated experiences and lessons learned to
modify and improve future plans.
Furthermore, there is also an important part affecting the success of any proposed
sustainable energy development approach, which is the energy end-user. All proposed
policies are often drafted, revised, approved, and adopted by technocrats and professionals
representing the government who are concerned mainly with the supply side of the energy.
This scheme had functioned well for the conventional commercial forms of energy (being
commodities) like electricity, NG, and oil products. However, the same scheme has failed to
succeed in the case of RUE and non bulk RE electricity generation as in most of the cases
the end-user find him self requested to get involved in a process much different from just
buying a "commodity".
To be successful, RUE and RE strategies together with accompanying tools and measures
have to be developed through deep negotiations and intimate involvement of end-users
associations.
4.1.1 Under exploited RUE
It could be seen from what has been presented in the previous parts of this report that the
potential for RUE in Egypt is tremendous and amounted in the range of 20% to 40% of
primary energy consumption. According to experts judgment appeared in this study, actual
level of achievement is estimated at only from 0.5% to 1% of the annual primary energy
consumption. This accomplished level is extremely low and falls below all acceptable
expectations. However, different energy stakeholders claim that they include RUE measures
into their plans and activities without declaring or setting quantitative measurable targets,
developing appropriate measures and tools, or allocate relevant necessary funds.
Previous RUE activities are presented in 2.2.1. In spite of their limited effect on the creation
of local market for energy efficiency equipment and services, they have already drawn the
attention of both policy makers and energy professionals to the importance of RUE for
Egypt‟s energy sustainability.
Those efforts were funded mainly through grant agreements with different donors and
international organizations (mainly USAID, EU, and UNDP/GEF) and were carried out during
different periods since 1985 till now. They were neither coordinated nor integrated under a
preset RUE vision or guideline framework and were even performed as separate
independent activities and executed by different national institutions. This kind of practice
had minimized their impact which did not sum up into an accumulated achievements and
results on the national level. All investments in the previous projects had a total of about US$
100 millions and were mainly raised from grants with limited local participation.
It has been proved that RUE measures technologies and processes have a high economical
competitiveness compared to most relevant RE technologies and processes and in many
cases more economic than adding new equivalent conventional production capacities to the
supply side. However this notion is still absent in any planning practices for the expansion of
the supply side capacities to meat the forecasted demand which is based on historical data.
This simple straightforward supply/demand balance planning concept does not give any role
for RUE to play in Egypt.
Applying an integrated resource planning (IRP) approach on the national and sectoral energy
levels would give an equal footing comparison between investing on adding additional supply
side capacity, or investing to save the same capacity throughout applying RUE measures
particularly in the energy demand side without affecting neither productivity nor level of
service quality.
4.1.2 Under exploited RE
As mentioned above, both RUE and RE are under exploited in Egypt, however, RE is in a
considerably better situation due to the existence of a declared RE strategy with quantitative
targets. Also an organization (NREA) is entrusted by implementing the said RE strategy
along with developing, revising and updating its objectives to adapt it to nowadays dynamic
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