The Electricity Ministry and NI Capital have agreed to form four new power companies next month that they plan to IPO, said the head of the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) Gaber El Desouky. Three of the companies will manage Siemens’ EUR 10 bn power plants in Borollos, Beni Suef, and the new capital (El Desouky puts the total cost of the plants at EUR 6 bn and EUR 4 bn to prepare the land), while the fourth will administer the power ministry’s USD 2.3 bn emergency plan to raise the national grid’s capacity, El Desouky added. The ministry and NI Capital, a subsidiary of the state-owned National Investment Bank, are determining the companies’ capital and evaluating their assets ahead of formation, with the EEHC holding a majority stake in all four companies, Al Borsa reports. As we noted earlier this month, NI Capital announced the plan at Business News Foundation’s Energy Conference, but at the time it was promoting one company to manage the three plants. Deputy Electricity Minister Sabah Mashaly had stated earlier that the move was among the ministry’s plan to allow citizens and the private sector to hold stakes in power projects. Although not stated by any officials, the IPO of these companies may be the first step in the ministry’s grander scheme to deregulate the power market.

Meanwhile, El Desouky promised no power cuts this summer, announcing that the ministry is in the final stages of completing the emergency plan to raise the national grid’s capacity by 3.6 GW. The ministry also completed its pre-summer maintenance work on the grid’s existing power plants producing 32 GW, said El Desouky. He predicted that peak demand for power this summer would reach 31.5 GW. Nonetheless, he called on citizens to reduce consumption, according to Al Mal.