Foreign Policy quotes Global Energy Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Brenda Shaffer on the political impact of power outages in Egypt:
“[Hosni] Mubarak fell during extensive power outages. [Mohammed] Morsi fell during power outages. And Egypt still has such a problem of stable electricity supply, and that is such a symbol of the lack of state strength,” said Brenda Shaffer, an energy expert at Georgetown University. Steady power supplies are needed for everything from powering water pumps for agriculture to keeping factories and air conditioners humming.
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“Frankly, I never really thought that exports to Egypt were a done deal — you can’t lose something you don’t have,” Shaffer said.