Egypt's Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy has announced plans to continue its expansion of prepaid meter installations in the current fiscal year 2026/2027. The ministry, through its distribution companies, aims to install 2.5 million prepaid meters. This move is part of a broader strategy to replace old mechanical meters with prepaid ones, ensuring the pre-collection of electricity services.
As of the end of the 2025/2026 fiscal year, the number of subscribers on the unified electricity network reached 45.4 million. Of these, 22.7 million subscribers have prepaid meters, while 22.6 million use regular meters. The ministry's efforts focus on enhancing the efficiency of electricity distribution and reducing losses.
The 2025/2026 fiscal year saw an improvement in loss indicators for electricity distribution companies compared to the previous two years. The overall loss percentage decreased from 19.66% in 2023/2024 to 18.93% in 2024/2025 and further to 17.67%. This improvement is attributed to intensive measures by distribution companies and the Electricity Investigations Department to combat electricity theft.
The Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy reported a significant increase in the collection of funds from electricity theft cases. In the past two fiscal years, 4.44 million cases were recorded, and 18.67 billion Egyptian pounds were collected, representing a 62% increase compared to the same period. Additionally, around 3.1 million code meters were installed during the previous two years, a 60% increase.
The ministry has made efforts to improve the speed of providing meter installation services. The average waiting time for meter installation has decreased to 20 days, a 60% improvement compared to 50 days during the same period. This improvement is part of broader efforts to enhance service quality.
Key performance indicators for service quality have shown positive trends. The average outage duration per subscriber decreased to 103 minutes in 2025/2026, down from 147 minutes in 2021/2022. The average time to restore power after an outage also decreased to 75 minutes in 2025/2026, compared to 88 minutes in 2021/2022.
The Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy continues to work on improving its services and infrastructure. With a focus on expanding prepaid meter installations and combating electricity theft, the ministry aims to enhance the efficiency and reliability of electricity distribution across Egypt.
Key points
- The Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy aims to install 2.5 million prepaid meters in the current fiscal year 2026/2027.
- The number of subscribers on Egypt's unified electricity network reached 45.4 million by the end of the 2025/2026 fiscal year.
- The overall loss percentage in electricity distribution decreased to 17.67% in the 2025/2026 fiscal year.
