The solution to the “energy crisis” is to not back down from selling it at international prices, Qalaa Holdings Co-Founder and MD Hisham El-Khazindar said at a conference yesterday, Al Mal reported. The government being the distributor, importer and refiner of energy helped drive state spending on energy up drastically, El-Khazindar said. There have been calls from industry players for the government to “reduce prices” industry pays for energy post the float of the EGP; they don’t use the word “subsidize,” but most are paying USD 4-7 per mmBtu for energy the state will be importing at north of USD 7 per mmBtu in the first quarter of next year.