The Little Engine that Could

Meet our little red Honda, a 1 kilowatt generator, aka lifesaver.

Providing electrical power to 80 million people poses a challenge for the Egyptian government, particularly in the summer. My theory is that it copes with demand by cutting power to various areas on a rotating (although probably random) basis. Typically the power is off between 10am and 8pm. This past week, friends in Luxor had no power and I've read that Maadi and central Cairo have also had power cuts.

Last summer our electricity would be off for 10 hours for days on end, so the Time Traveller had a back-up power supply installed in preparation for this summer. The first prototype was not to his specification as the contractor installed a 4-kilowatt generator because he thought it was stronger. Stronger = better. It may have been stronger but it was so noisy that I would not turn it on for fear of upsetting the whole neighbourhood, donkeys and gamoosa included.

The Time Traveller had calculated that we only needed 1 kilowatt to handle our basic functions. And so, with help from my trusty Right-Hand Man in Cairo, we found the Honda last month -- the only one of its kind available in Egypt. It is rated as 'silent'. Silent must be a relative term, but I and my neighbours can live with its lawn-mower acoustic level.

For the Honda I am thankful as today the power went out at 10:14am. I read the instructions (always do, unlike some male types), turned a couple of knobs, pulled the cord and behold it worked! Fortunately, the government power supply was only off for a couple of hours today . . . but I know I'm ready if there is a longer outage.


This is the panel at the front door. The switch at the top changes the apartment's power source from the government grid to the little red Honda.


With 1 kilowatt we can run just about everything in the flat. Lights, computers, frig, and air cooler. The only exception seems to be the water heater. The water in the tank stays hot for hours, so I can manage. Most importantly, the freezer keeps working and my new batch of mango frozen yogurt remained firm.

This time I added a can of coconut milk to 4 mangoes, 3 tbsp lemon juice, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cardamon and 1 1/2 cups yogurt. Yum! Now I'm thinking about pina colada frozen yogurt . . . but that is for the future.

9PM Update: With an hour before sunset, I walked to a little restaurant near Madinat Habu, called the 3 Jackels, that is operated by some French expats. The walk took me about 2km inland from the Nile and under numerous power lines. Fitting considering the topic of today's post.


I believe that these lines represent the local power grid.


And these lines are part of the national power grid. I was surprised to learn that 84% of Egypt's electric power is thermal, generated mainly by natural gas. Only 16% is hydroelectric, mostly from the Aswan Dam.

Alternative energy sources are in their infancy, even though Egypt has immense potential for harvesting wind and solar energy. The Netherlands established a wind farm on the Gulf of Suez about 15 years ago but I haven't seen much more development since then. For interesting links about Egypt tapping into its solar potential, see Bernadette's "S is for Solar Power" post.


Finally, the Stella represents Shari's restorative power grid. After only 3o minutes walking in 40C heat, albeit against a hot wind blowing from the desert, the water in my bottle was hot. Thankfully, the Stella was cold.