Austerity does not touch electricity and gas distribution in Algeria

Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal gave an instruction to the energy ministry to ensure full coverage of electricity and stop power cuts.

The government plans to achieve a number of projects to raise electricity coverage in urban zones for 5 million residents and countryside for 22,000.

The energy ministry has also projects to expand natural gas coverage network to reach 3 million houses in urban areas and 1.5 million in countryside. This program is mean to end electricity cuts for good.

Reports show that the government reached 99 percent of electricity coverage and 53 percent of natural gas coverage by the end of 2014.

The government adopted an optimization policy due to oil price fall in the international market. Because of that, electricity and gas coverage network expansion projects were excluded.