Egypt reinstates daylight saving time to conserve energy

In a move to conserve energy, Egypt has announced the reinstatement of daylight saving time after a nine-year break, according to a statement released by the cabinet on Wednesday.

According to the announcement, every year from the last Friday of April to the last Thursday of October, the official time in the Arab Republic of Egypt will be adjusted by moving it ahead 60 minutes.

An economic crisis, exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, has led to a sharp decline in the value of the Egyptian currency and a significant increase in prices.

Cairo last year announced a series of electricity rationing measures, including dimming street lights, intended to free up energy for export and increase its depleted foreign currency reserves.

The return to twice-yearly clock changes is the government’s latest move “in light of the economic conditions and changes the world is witnessing”, according to the cabinet statement.

Egypt last observed daylight savings time in 2014. The government imposed two additional clock changes that year to shorten the daytime fast during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, making a total of four in one year.

As authorities struggle to rustle up foreign investment, inflation hit 26.5 percent in January, according to official figures.

Household electricity bills, which are subsidised for most of the population, could increase in June, when a year-long freeze on price hikes expires.

The Egyptian pound lost half its value in under a year. Experts say this has stalled plans by Cairo’s wealthy Gulf allies to acquire Egyptian state assets.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli returned empty-handed this week from meetings in Qatar, which last year pledged to invest $5 billion in the North African country, but has been slow to act.