Egypt will begin curbing some electricity use, including by ordering shops and cafes to close earlier, as the North African energy importer grapples with soaring global fuel costs caused by the Iran war.

Starting March 28, malls, eateries and retailers will all have to shut by 9 p.m. for five days of the week, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly told reporters on Wednesday. At weekends, they’ll need to close at 10 p.m. — still early for many in the country of 110 million, where shopping and dining long into the night is common.

The moves show the challenges the latest Middle Eastern conflict in forcing on Egypt, which relies on natural gas imports for much of its power generation and had been striving to revamp the economy after securing a $57 billion global bailout and devaluing its currency in 2024.

Other rationing will include turning off illuminated advertising billboards and reducing public lighting to a safe minimum. Many government buildings will also close by 6 p.m., while authorities are considering mandating work-from-home one or two days a week for both the public and private sectors.

“We need to begin to ration the amounts of fuel and electricity we’re using,” Madbouly said. The steps will be reviewed after a month and “God willing, if the crisis ends,” will be reversed, he added.

Madbouly said that before the US-Israeli war against Iran erupted on Feb. 28, the nation’s gas-import bill was about $560 million a month. It’s now around $1.65 billion due to the spike in global oil and gas prices caused by chaos in the Persian Gulf.

“We’re trying to take the situation in a gradual way” so as not to rattle the economy, the premier said. He described limiting energy consumption as preferable to raising fuel prices again, as the government did last week.