The government announces an emergency plan to reduce electricity consumption by the summer of 2027
The Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy is adjusting measures to reduce demand peak by 300 megawatts to cope with energy shortages and declining output indicators.
The Minister of Processing, Housing and Coordinating the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, Salah الزواري, today 3 November 2026 in Bardo, announced an emergency plan to reduce demand for electricity during the summer of 2027. The plan was presented at the headquarters of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People during a joint parliamentary hearing between the Parliamentary Committee on Industry and Trade and the Production Sectors Committee of the National Council of Governments and Regions, as part of the discussion of the Ministry's mandate budget for 2027 of 7890 million dinars.
The approved government measures aim to reduce the projected peak summer consumption from 6,000 MW to 5,700 MW to save about 300 MW. These arrangements come after the demand for electricity peaked at 6,400 megawatts in the summer of 2026, while the country's available production capacity did not exceed 4,450 megawatts. The energy deficit also rose to 4.7 million tonnes of oil equivalent, and the energy independence rate dropped to about 32%.
These difficulties coincide with a slowdown in production in the mining sector, with commercial phosphate production reaching 3.04 million tonnes in 2024 after registering 2.9 million tonnes for 2023, levels below government targets to reach 14 million tonnes by 2030. The path of energy projects and community enterprises is based on Law No. 12 for 2015 relating to renewable energies, and Presidential Decree No. 15 for 2022 regulating civil enterprises in the phosphate sector and its transport.
At the next stage, the ministry intends to activate bids for 150 MW storage batteries, as well as concentrate gas turbine cooling systems before the summer of 2027.