Egypt Orders Early Closures for Shops and Restaurants Amid Energy Crisis

The juice vendor in Downtown Cairo laughed when a reporter asked whether he planned to comply with Egypt's new mandatory closing hours. "Of course I won't close early," he said. His defiance may be short-lived. Egypt's 30-day energy rationing order took effect Saturday, March 28, requiring shops, cafés, restaurants, and malls to shut by 9 pm on weekdays and by 10 pm on Thursdays and Fridays; in Cairo, where eateries routinely serve customers until the small hours and shops remain open past midnight, the shift is jarring.

The closures are Egypt's most visible domestic response to an energy crisis rooted in regional war. Iran responded to attacks from the U.S. and Israel by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, severing a critical shipping corridor for global oil and gas supplies. Israel, Egypt's most important natural gas supplier, halted exports when the conflict began more than three weeks ago. The consequences landed hard on a country that generates more than 80 percent of its electricity from natural gas, much of which is imported.

Fuel and gas prices have already risen by up to 30 percent, pushing food and transport costs up by as much as 20 percent. Those shocks arrived before the curfew even began; the early closures now threaten to compound the economic strain on a service sector already squeezed, with business owners facing lost evening revenue and workers at risk of reduced hours or outright job losses.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly outlined the measures during a weekly cabinet briefing on March 18, framing them as necessary to manage rising fuel import costs and safeguard the national power grid. He offered no guarantees about duration. "We will rescind these measures if the crisis ends, but will extend them if it doesn't," Madbouly said. He also signaled a reluctance to keep passing costs directly to consumers: "We will not continue raising prices. We need to have other ideas."

The government's response extends well beyond business curfews. Cairo has dimmed street lights and switched off billboards. Government offices now close at 6 pm. Authorities are also considering mandatory remote work days for public employees.

Not everyone in the service sector is resigned. One café worker in Downtown Cairo said he would "follow the guidance communicated to us by the police," a cautious compliance that stood in direct contrast to the juice vendor's open refusal a few blocks away.

The knock-on effects are already visible in Egypt's vital tourism corridors. In seaside resorts such as Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh, where shops in old market districts routinely stay open well past midnight, the curfew is prompting alarm among foreign visitors. In a Facebook group for German holidaymakers in Hurghada, one user wrote, "If things stay like this, I might as well stay at home." Another was blunter: "Tourism will be harmed more than helped."

Timothy Kaldas, deputy director of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, warned that the economic pain is unlikely to ease quickly. "The price of liquefied natural gas ... is significantly higher than before," he said, adding that Egypt must now seek alternative gas sources. He noted that while rising energy costs are a global issue, Egypt's geopolitical position and import dependence make it particularly vulnerable.

What Egypt cannot easily replace is the certainty of a stable, nearby supplier. With the Strait of Hormuz disrupted and Israeli exports severed, Cairo faces a supply gap and a price shock simultaneously. The 30-day order is a stopgap; what comes after it depends entirely on a war still unfolding beyond Egypt's borders.