Truth’s Perspective | Ibrahim Shaglawi Energy Engineering in the Nile Basin
On Saturday, following talks with the Egyptian side, the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum announced an increase in Sudan’s electricity supply through the Sudanese–Egyptian Electrical Interconnection Project to 75 megawatts, with the acceleration of the second phase to 300 megawatts, eventually reaching 1,000 megawatts, alongside the rehabilitation of networks, generation stations, and transformers damaged by the war.
This means that the electrical interconnection between the two countries has come to represent a new dimension in the concept of economic and developmental cooperation between Khartoum and Cairo, enhancing opportunities for investment and development, particularly in light of the repercussions of the war in Sudan and Egypt’s position in support of stability.
Therefore, the increase in Egyptian electricity supply opens an opportunity for our country that goes beyond addressing the deficit toward building a strategic partnership in the energy sector, whose effects could extend to a broader scope across the Nile Basin.
The significance of this step stems from the reality of Sudan’s electricity sector, which suffered extensive damage during the war, affecting generation stations and transmission, transformation, and distribution networks.
This has made restoring electricity to cities and areas of production and services an essential part of the economic recovery effort. Therefore, Egyptian electricity at this time represents an important resource for enhancing energy efficiency if it is linked to rehabilitating the national grid, providing transformers and equipment, and training, alongside expanding solar and wind energy.
However, the strategic reading should not stop at the limits of the quantity of electricity Sudan receives from Egypt. The more important question is how the existing interconnection can be transformed into a regional energy infrastructure that benefits Sudan, Egypt, and Ethiopia, with Sudan playing a role greater than that of a consumer. The country’s location between Egypt and Ethiopia, the two largest energy systems, provides an opportunity to move toward becoming a connecting link in a regional market in which the three countries can exchange electricity, interests, and expertise.
It is well known that the three countries possess strong elements of integration: Egypt with its experience, networks, and generation capacities; Ethiopia with its hydropower potential for electricity production; and Sudan with its strategic location, market, and development needs. If these advantages are utilized through a gradual process, energy can become an entry point for building shared interests that transcend the logic of competition. Therefore, Sudan can benefit from its partnership with Egypt to maximize electrical interconnection and open the door to Ethiopia, making electricity exchange a shared interest that supports development and helps reduce tensions, rather than making energy an extension of Nile water disputes.
This does not mean that electrical interconnection alone can resolve political and water disputes, as these require negotiation, guarantees, and arrangements. But realistic politics also builds stability through interests that make cooperation more beneficial than conflict. Here, energy becomes a tool of economic diplomacy.
At the same time, imports should not become a substitute for building the national electricity sector. Increasing the supply to 300 or 1,000 megawatts from Egypt, alongside an Ethiopian interconnection project of around 200 megawatts, will not achieve its impact unless it is followed by the rehabilitation of local generation, networks, and stations, diversification of sources, and investment in alternative and renewable energy.
Sudan should also not be reduced to the role of a consumer. Alongside its hydropower potential in the proposed dams whose studies have been completed, there are also opportunities in thermal generation, in addition to the possibility of continuing the nuclear energy path in which progress had been made during earlier stages, thereby enhancing the diversity of generation and its ability to meet future demand. Thus, regional interconnection becomes complementary to the country’s capacities, not a substitute for them, paving the way for its transformation from a consumer into a partner in the Nile Basin energy system.
The most realistic path, according to #TruthsPerspective, begins with maximizing the Egyptian interconnection, in parallel with developing the Ethiopian interconnection, ultimately reaching an integrated regional energy system.
Sudan should not be a consumer between producers, but rather a partner that leverages its location, resources, and networks to build balanced interests. Here lies the idea of Energy Engineering in the Nile Basin: transforming electricity from a field of competition into a network of interests, and from a geography of conflict into a platform for development and integration, so that Sudan becomes a link and an active partner in the regional energy equation.
May you remain in good health and well-being.
Monday, September 14, 2026.
Shglawi55@gmail.com