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Egypt turns to Israel to address shortage of natural gas

Egypt is willing to pay Israel four times the price of natural gas it once sold to Israel in a bid to stave off a worsening energy crisis.
A Bedouin man looks at a gas pipeline that was hit by a RPG in North Sinai March 6, 2012. The Egyptian gas pipeline carrying gas to Israel and Jordan was attacked on Monday night, according to local Bedouin tribesmen. The pipeline has been hit by multiple attacks since President Hosni Mubarak was toppled in 2011 and remains shut since an explosion on February 5, 2011. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (EGYPT - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS ENERGY SOCIETY BUSINESS) - RTR2YXSZ

CAIRO — Egypt is plunging into darkness every day. Across the country, authorities are scheduling power outages to take the pressure off the national grid as Egypt struggles to deal with chronic energy shortages.

According to Hafez El Salmawy, managing director of the Egyptian Electric Regulatory Agency, Egypt will lack at least 20% of the natural gas it needs to properly power its electricity plants this summer. As energy usage spikes in the heat, these outages will become longer and more frequent.

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