{"id":18728,"date":"2024-02-05T13:33:21","date_gmt":"2024-02-05T11:33:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/?p=18728"},"modified":"2026-10-09T03:15:57","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T01:15:57","slug":"electricity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/electricity\/","title":{"rendered":"How Are Online Workers Affected by Power Cuts?"},"content":{"rendered":"

When working from home became possible because of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Mona, a journalist, was happy because she would be with her children, saving the time and expense wasted daily on the multiple means of transport she uses; but the situation changed in the summer of 2023.<\/p>\n

The frequent power cuts that began in July 2023 caused a lot of working time to be lost. “In 2010 and 2011, when the electricity was cut, we used to go to internet offices or cyber caf\u00e9s to finish our pending work, but now I am a mother of young children, and it is difficult to leave home and work from the street,” Mona tells Zawia3.<\/p>\n

Mai Shaheen, a journalist, also suffers from the frequent power cuts, as she works full time during the day from home. Last July, power cuts were frequent throughout the day with no fixed times, which led to delays in delivering the tasks assigned to her. She says: “With the announcement of the power cut schedule, the cut time became regular, from five to seven in the evening, which is outside working hours, but the time changed to 11 am to 1 pm, which delays me a lot at work”.<\/p>\n

Shaheen describes how the power cuts have affected her life: a power cut is accompanied by another in the internet, and also in water, which sometimes forces her to buy double quantities of bottled mineral water for drinking or cooking, and she cannot go out during the day because she fears leaving her children alone at home without electricity.<\/p>\n

In July 2023, the government began cutting electricity to reduce loads, as the extreme heat Egypt experienced increased the load on the electricity grid, according to a statement by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly at the time; but President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi stated<\/a> during a visit to Beni Suef governorate last September that the real reason for the power cuts is the high cost of fuel, adding that “we have power plants that can produce more electricity than we need, but the crisis lies in setting the oil price in the fiscal year’s budget at USD 65 a barrel, while on the ground its prices have risen”.<\/p>\n

In one of the sessions of the “Story of a Nation: Vision and Achievement” conference last September, El-Sisi indicated<\/a> that cutting electricity for one hour a day saves the state USD 300 million a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Electricity production capacity from conventional and renewable sources reached<\/a> 63,190 megawatts in 2022, according to the Cabinet. According to the annual bulletin<\/a> of the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company, total fuel consumption in electricity generation in 2021-2022 reached 34,149 tonnes\/cubic metres, an increase of 5.4% over 2020-2021.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The Minister of Electricity<\/a> said the cuts are driven mainly by shortages of natural gas and fuel oil supplies to run power plants. Egypt achieved self-sufficiency in gas in 2019, but gas production fell to its lowest level in the last three years last May, according to the “Middle East Economic Survey<\/a>“; therefore, the government announced<\/a> the import of quantities of fuel oil worth between USD 250 and 300 million until the end of last August, but this did not close the gap or help stop the power cuts, which have become a daily occurrence.<\/p>\n

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The Shift to Remote Work<\/h3>\n

During the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, many institutions and individuals turned to remote work, and many continued to work “online” even after the end of the state of emergency imposed by the pandemic, including the journalists Mona and Mai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The number of workers in temporary online jobs worldwide ranged between 154 and 435 million, representing about 4.4% to 12.5% of the global labour force, according to an analysis issued<\/a> by the Cabinet’s Information and Decision Support Center.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

This labour force, which relies mainly on the internet, has been harmed by the continuous power cuts, with damage ranging from psychological and financial to work losses.<\/p>\n

According to the International Labour Organization<\/a>‘s forecasts for the labour market this year, the global unemployment rate is expected to rise from 5.1% in 2023 to 5.2% in 2024, with about 2 million additional workers looking for jobs this year, as a result of high inflation levels, which have reduced disposable income and eroded living standards in most countries.<\/p>\n

Mona explains how the power cuts have affected her work, saying the power cut from 12 to 2 pm falls at the peak time of her work, and even after the electricity returns, the internet remains cut, affected by the power cut, until 3:30 pm, which has caused her to stop working and be late in delivering the tasks required of her.<\/p>\n

She tells Zawia3 that the power cuts have negatively affected everyone, and the losses of online workers have mounted without any compensation worth mentioning from the government, pointing out that the frequent cuts have contributed to a drop in her income of up to about 50%, because she is unable to deliver her tasks on time.<\/p>\n

Mai’s situation was no different from Mona’s, as she has to work longer hours and complete the remaining tasks required of her that she was late in delivering and working on, which has made her lose the ability to organise her schedule. Mai says the constant power cuts are exhausting: she can neither get work done nor do household chores, because the water is cut off along with the electricity, forcing her to work until nine in the evening.<\/p>\n

Mona took advantage of the start of the school year and began waking up with her child at five in the morning to start work at six until the time of the power cut. Mai, meanwhile, believes that the low monthly cost of electricity has helped her cover the internet bills, which increased because of the constant power cuts.<\/p>\n

A report<\/a> by Human Rights Watch pointed out that the continuous power cuts have prevented many from performing their job duties. Adam Coogle, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at the organisation, said: “The Egyptian government has long implicitly asked Egyptians to sacrifice their civil and political rights in exchange for economic prosperity. But the power cuts severely curtail people’s ability to obtain their rights, including the rights to food, water and health care”.<\/p>\n

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Losses Across the Board<\/h3>\n

Medhat Nafea, an economist and professor of finance, believes the power cuts greatly harm online workers because of the resulting social losses. He tells Zawia3 that there are greater losses related to scheduling power cuts during peak hours, the thefts that can occur when cameras are down, and economic and investment risks with large consequences that must be taken into account.<\/p>\n

Among the losses resulting from power cuts that Nafea pointed to are difficulty accessing technological infrastructure, communicating and meeting customer requests, which results in lower productivity. With platforms moving towards e-commerce, they rely on an online presence to make sales, and power cuts make it impossible to access the web and prevent customers from making purchases, resulting in large revenue losses, in addition to damage to devices and the costs of repairing them, which increase financial instability.<\/p>\n

All these things harm the customer experience and the reputation of companies in the local and global markets: if a company’s website, online services or customer support systems go offline, customers may face difficulties placing orders, asking for help or accessing vital information, according to Nafea.<\/p>\n

According to the International Labour Organization’s definition of online freelance work (gig work), it is a job in which the worker is paid for a specific task or for a specific period, carried out through internet platforms, with the platform acting as an intermediary between the “temporary” worker and the person or company that needs the work done. These paid tasks include food delivery, passenger transport, data entry, writing, translation, design, software development, Uber and similar app rides, e-marketing and so on. Supply (workers) and demand (the company or person who wants the task done) are matched through an app or website. According to a recent World Bank report<\/a>, most online freelance workers work part time; for example, about 54% of those working in temporary or freelance online work work less than 10 hours a week, which means that frequent power cuts lasting on average up to two hours a day mainly hinder their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the report, online workers in Egypt are distributed by employment status into the following categories: entrepreneurs, who make up 30% of all workers; independent contractors, who make up 21%; seasonal workers, who make up 16%; while 8% are workers employed by other clients, and 25% are employees of the platforms.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Additional Financial Burdens<\/h3>\n

Mai has fixed landline internet at home, but after the constant power cuts she had to buy an additional mobile internet bundle. She pays EGP 330 a month for the landline internet package and EGP 120, and after the power cuts she has to top up her mobile phone with another EGP 200, meaning she pays EGP 650 a month.<\/p>\n

She consumes between EGP 50 and EGP 60 of electricity a month, attributing the low consumption cost to not owning an air conditioner or power-hungry electrical appliances. She earns a salary of EGP 2,500 a month, about 30% of which is spent on internet and electricity bills so that she can work during the power cuts.<\/p>\n

Since the power cuts began last July, Haitham has got used to carrying a portable internet device in his bag, at double the extra cost, to ensure he has a network for most of the day. He says: “I work in the stock market and invest part of my money, so I must be connected to the sessions throughout working hours until three in the afternoon every day; but the power and internet cuts pushed me to avoid further losses, and I bought advanced equipment and high-speed internet, and of course I am now trying to make up for all the costs I have borne because of the government’s decisions”.<\/p>\n

Commenting, Dr Hoda El-Mallah, director general of the International Centre for Economic Consultancy and Feasibility Studies, acknowledges that power cuts have effects, but believes talking about them is warranted only if the electricity is cut for a long period, explaining that power cut times are set by a schedule with specific times, so their negative effects can be avoided through prior coordination.<\/p>\n

She points out that the power cut at the headquarters of the International Centre for Economic Consultancy she heads is from 11 am to 1 pm, and work starts at about 10 am, meaning work stops for about 4 hours a day. El-Mallah tries to coordinate with clients so that appointments and meetings are after 2 pm, and she may lose a client if schedules do not match, but she believes continuous, advance coordination is necessary to avoid losses.<\/p>\n

Medhat Nafea stresses the need to measure the impact of power cuts quantitatively, not just by estimate, calling on the Ministry of Electricity and the cabinet to conduct a study on the returns and losses resulting from power cuts and to set an end date for the rationing policy being followed, explaining that it cannot go on without end. It is worth noting that there is so far no research or monitoring study discussing the impact of power cuts on work sectors; but the government issues statements, described as “provocative” by the citizens we spoke to, stressing the importance of power cuts for saving energy sources and the budget.<\/p>\n

Despite the challenges faced by online workers in Egypt, including daily power cuts now, there are not enough studies to clarify their number, but it can be estimated based on some indicators. According to a DataReportal<\/a> report, the number of internet users in Egypt reached 59.19 million in July 2021, 53.6 million of whom use “Facebook”, the most popular social media platform in the country. According to a NAOS Solutions report, there were 72 million internet users in Egypt in January 2022, 51.5 million of whom use social media. Some of these users are likely to work online, whether permanently, temporarily or part time.<\/p>\n

For a more accurate estimate, some previous studies that analysed online work in Egypt can be relied on. For example, the International Labour Organization conducted a study<\/a> in 2017 and found that about 1.4 million people in Egypt work online, 80% of whom work in fields such as programming, design, translation, writing and marketing. The study indicated that online work provides opportunities for young people, women, people with disabilities, migrants and refugees, but it also faces challenges such as fierce competition, low income, instability, discrimination and exploitation. The study made some recommendations to improve online working conditions in Egypt, such as promoting awareness, training, organisation, social protection and social dialogue.<\/p>\n

World Bank and International Labour Organization studies point to the importance of governments cooperating to promote online freelance work, especially as demand for “online” labour in developing countries is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years. On the other hand, however, temporary or freelance jobs provide little or no protection for workers, who often face uncertainty about income flows and have no clear paths for career progression. Freelancers also have no right to membership of social protection networks, in addition to challenges related to regulating data security and privacy, especially in countries such as Egypt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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