Egypt and Libya have resumed talks for a massive increase in the scale of their electricity interconnection, aiming to take it from about 150 MW in capacity today to a 2 GW line that could help solve eastern Libya’s chronic electricity problems, a senior Egyptian government official tells EnterpriseAM.

A ramp-up of power exports from Egypt could be one of the keys to eastern Libya’s reconstruction and will be welcomed by Egyptian construction contractors working on bns of USD worth of infrastructure projects there. Egyptian firms are spearheading the rebuilding of Benghazi and Derna, but projects are hamstrung by a fragmented Libyan grid and chronic blackouts.

Egypt-Libya ties are deepening again: Libya announced late last year plans to establish a dryport as a prelude to a joint free zone with Egypt. Officials there have said they expect to award new contracts to Egyptian contractors to expand infrastructure projects across the east.

In context: Eastern Libya has done a better job managing its smaller grid than has the country’s west, which is struggling to cope with higher demand. An expanded connection to Egypt will help drive growth and recovery in the east.

A bigger connection between the two grids is the latest in our drive to become the premier energy hub in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Sisi administration has spent EGP 960 bn creating surplus installed generation capacity — with another EGP 136.3 bn planned to boost average power generation to 235 bn kWh by June. That sets us up to export energy to regional partners, while an expanded grid of cross-border links also allows us to import and swap power if excess is available elsewhere.

What’s next? An agreement to boost the Libya interconnection should be finalized and signed by June, our source tells us, after technical studies and financing arrangements wrap. Meanwhile, Egypt and Saudi are moving forward next month with final trials for a 3 GW interconnection project that should go live in April.

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