A massive power cut hit large parts of the Egyptian capital on Thursday, halting the city’s subway for hours.
The outage, the most extensive in months, also affected the state-run Media City on the outskirts of Cairo, home to many satellite TV stations, disrupting their transmissions.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Electricity told independent newspaper Al Masri Al Youm the blackout was due to maintenance at some power plants.
However, the online edition of state-run newspaper al-Ahram quoted Minister of Electricity Mohammed Chaker as saying that the cause of the outage was not known yet.
Egyptian television said that the subway service and electricity supplies had gradually returned.
Egypt has experienced in recent months its worst energy crisis in decades due to a shortage of fuel needed to operate the electricity-generating plants.
The governments said the problem had been worsened by “subversive” attacks purportedly mounted by supporters of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi whom the military toppled last year.
GNA
