App Reminds Egypt of Darkness

A new government service by The Egyptian Electric Utility and Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency is to be launched which will map and notify people of where and when a power outage is happening in several areas of Greater Cairo including Dokki, Agouza, Zamalek, Heliopolis, Nasr City and Al-Tagammu.

Head of the agency, Hafez Al-Salmawy said that the spread of the service across the country depends on how quickly companies provide the necessary data on their electricity distribution in order to link this data to maps for customers. The service is part of a special map on Google Maps and will also inform customers of the duration of the outage in addition to the Khod Balak service, launched to warn people of emergencies in their area.

The notifications will also be available via SMS messages on all three major networks from next month.

This is quite an ingenious idea; almost as ingenious as actually solving Egypt's electricity problems. Until then you can look on to the mesmerizingly tacky light display on the Cairo tower from your candle lit room, whilst you get an SMS to tell you what you already know. That you're in the dark.

Download the app for for Android here