The Egyptian Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade has given local producers and importers of household air-conditioners a one-year grace period in which to produce and import energy-saving air-conditioning units.
The decision was announced in response to Egypt's ongoing summertime electricity crisis, which has led to regular power outages across the country.
The government has attributed the outages – which have led to widespread public anger – to fuel shortages and the decreased production capacity at the nation's power plants.
Temperatures of new air-conditioning units should not fall below 20 degrees or exceed 28 degrees, according to a ministry press release.
Mohab Hallouda, senior energy specialist for the Middle East/North Africa region at the World Bank, said the move will increase the cost of air conditioning units but it will decrease electricity bills.
National electricity consumption has increased by more than 10 per cent over the past two years.
