Egyptians across the nation tuned into the talk shows last night to catch up on the unfolding power cuts drama: The extension of rolling power cuts kept the nation’s pundits busy for the second day straight, after the government announced that it will carry on extending load-shedding for an “extra hour” until the end of the week. However, it’s unclear how many were able to tune in, with certain areas of the country reporting power outages of five or more hours yesterday.

ICYMI: The Electricity Ministry and Oil Ministry issued a joint apology for the unexpected “extra hour” of power outage on top of existing planned outages that was announced on Sunday and announced that the extension would carry on throughout the week. The ministries explained that despite efforts to prepare for an increase in demand, “given the continued extreme heat exceeding the normal levels for this period — which many countries in the region are suffering from — this requires the extension of the load shedding plan.”

Things might get worse before they get better: "The electricity crisis is expected to worsen as temperatures continue to rise and fuel shortages persist," Amr Adib said on El Hekaya (watch, runtime: 24:11). Adib said he expects that power cuts will be extended to three hours throughout the summer due to the ongoing heatwave and emphasized the need for equal distribution of load shedding across regions, noting that "equality in electricity rationing means no governorate should face longer blackouts than another."

The nation’s talking heads wanted answers: Adib also questioned the role of the House of Representatives and political parties, wondering "where is the Mostakbal Watan Party, the majority party, and what solutions have they provided?" Ahmed Moussa also addressed the people’s frustration on the airwaves, telling his viewers that "the anger over power cuts is justified. Egyptians have a right to uninterrupted electricity" (watch, runtime: 7:59).

The international press also picked up the story: Reuters.

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