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The River Nile banks in downtown Cairo, the most popular destination for taking a walk in Egypt, have fallen into darkness like most of the country's cities and neighborhoods as a result of the ongoing recurrent power outages.
Due to fuel shortage, hot weather and poor maintenance of power stations, blackouts for several hours on a daily basis have stirred popular uproar in the country that has been suffering turmoil since the removal of its long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak by mass protests in early 2011.
"We're fed up! Blackout has become like a ghost we are scared of its sudden appearance. It's not fair to live in the dark for almost ten hours daily," said Mahmoud Ali, a 33-year-old driver, at the Nile Corniche Street near Maadi, southern Cairo.
The man added that his wife does not stay at home after 6:00 p. m., fearing the power may go out while she is home alone at night.
In Talbiya neighborhood in Giza, crowds of residents marched on Tuesday evening in protests against the blackouts, calling on newly-elected President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to find an immediate solution to the crisis. Similarly, residents in Al-Manzala city in Daqahliya attempted to break into the city's power station, but security forces managed to stop them.
President Sisi, Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab and ministers of electricity and petroleum held an urgent meeting on Wednesday to discuss the issue. Mahlab promised less power outages next week and to end the rolling blackouts within four months. The Electricity Ministry, however, said earlier on Tuesday that the crisis is expected to continue for four years, urging people to rationalize power consumption.
"We're studying using nuclear energy in power generation, but we're currently giving priority to solar and wind energies," Mahlab told reporters following the meeting, adding the government is working on a timetable to increase the efficiency of the country's 54 power stations.
The rising power issue is posting a threat to many businesses in Egypt, in addition to affecting the work of hospitals and other public service institutions. Around 3,000 factories have closed in industrial Mahalla city in Gharbiya province due to the crisis, while people across the country abstain from paying electricity bills.
However, in Giza's Boulak al-Dakrour neighborhood, a local coffee shop is lighting up in the middle of darkness, where tens of visitors are enjoying beverages while watching TV and playing backgammon, dominoes and chess.
"We had to buy a power generator to keep the coffee shop running. Otherwise, customers will leave and the business will stop," said co-owner Alaa Ahmed.
On a highway leading to Samalout city in Upper Egypt's Menia province, houses nearby could hardly be seen due to sinking in complete darkness.
Mohamed Gamal, owner of a juice store at nearby Baiaho town, said that he is thinking about shutting down his business due to the recurrent power outages that have reduced his sales to an alarming level.
"The blackout continues for about ten hours every day, and I cannot afford a power generator to keep my business running," the 29-year-old man told Xinhua.
At one of Baiaho's dim streets, Umm Ahmed, an old housewife in her late 60s, said that she and her daughters could hardly sleep at night due to the hot weather, because the fans are not working during the long blackouts.
"Not only this, but it also turns the vegetables, fruits and meat stored in our fridge bad," she lamented.
The situation was not better at Manshiya district in Qena province, around 450 km south of the capital Cairo, as Abdel-Rahim al-Tunsi, owner of Hyper Tunsi Supermarket, said the regular power outages cost him dearly on a daily basis.
"The stored meat went bad and the government reported me to the police as selling rotten beef, which might cause me jail or a large fine," the 51-year-old store owner told Xinhua, arguing that if the crisis continues, he will have to shut down his supermarket and lay off workers.
Some 30 km away, at Qus city in Qena, housewife Samah Abdullah said that the electric sets at her house were damaged due to the week power supply and the sudden power return after blackout.
"It cost me around 30,000 Egyptian pounds (more than 4,000 U.S. dollars). I filed complaint to the governorate office but I did not get any reply so far," the 38-year-old woman continued.
Employee Ahmed Antar did not mean to be romantic when lettomg his wife have a birth surgery in candle light, but he had to because the power went off then at Deshna Public Hospital in Qena.
"I also had to bear the expenses of moving the baby to a private infant incubator that works with a power generator to avoid risking the baby's life," Antar told Xinhua.
Despite negatively affecting a lot of businesses and services, electric set stores that sell power generators, torches and flashlights have increasingly flourished over the crisis.
"The misfortunes of some people are the advantages of others," said Ahmed al-Dawi, owner of electric set store at Egypt's ancient capital city of Luxor, more than 600 km south of Cairo.
"I asked the agent to provide me with more power generators and flashlights imported from China, which are so saleable during blackouts," the man boasted, saying that his sales rose by 90 percent to reach about 1,000 U.S. dollar per day.
Few tourists appeared around Luxor and Karnak temples in the ancient city despite their huge columns, magnificent statues and original ancient features.
Tour guide Mohamed Salah al-Nubi, 39, said that some small antiquities were stolen from Luxor Temple two weeks ago due to power outages, during which the temple's monitoring systems are idle.
"Tourists also complain that they cannot enjoy walking around in the ancient city at a dim evening," Nubi told Xinhua, adding that some tourist agencies had to cancel the Sound and Light program featured for tourists at Karnak Temple due to recurrent power outages.
