Cairo, April 5 : Egypt's Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy announced price hikes for commercial and residential electricity consumption effective this April, citing the global energy crisis triggered by the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.

In a statement issued late Saturday (local time), the ministry said that the current "acute and unprecedented global crisis" across all energy resources, caused by the ongoing war in the Gulf region, has necessitated price increases for certain commercial and residential consumption tiers starting this month, reports Xinhua news agency.

According to the statement, commercial consumption prices across various brackets will rise by an average of approximately 20 per cent.

For residential consumption, prices for tiers consuming 2,000 kWh per month and above have been raised by an average of 16 per cent, while rates for all tiers below the 2,000 kWh threshold will remain unchanged.

This decision followed a series of measures taken by the Egyptian government in response to the global energy situation.

Austerity measures announced in late March included activating remote work systems, slowing the implementation of fuel-intensive mega-projects, and cutting fuel allocations for all government vehicles by 30 per cent.

Additional measures included cutting business hours for shops, restaurants, cafes and malls as well as reducing street lighting and billboard illumination by one-third.

Earlier on April 3, Egypt brought four new natural gas wells online in the Mediterranean Sea and the Western Desert as part of efforts to boost domestic energy output and curb its growing reliance on imports.

The wells, located in the offshore West Burullus field in the Mediterranean and the Khalda fields in the Western Desert, are expected to produce a combined 120 million cubic feet of gas per day, the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources said on Friday.

The additions come as Egypt grapples with soaring energy costs stemming from the regional conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States. Israeli natural gas, which typically accounts for nearly 20 per cent of Egypt's total consumption, has been cut off since US and Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28.

The government has been seeking to increase oil and gas output after a decline in natural gas production in recent years. In August 2025, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Egypt's current production stands at 4.1 billion cubic feet per day, with plans to reach 6.6 billion cubic feet per day by 2027.

The ministry said Egypt plans to drill more than 100 exploratory wells in 2026 to secure new energy reserves.

/IANS