Ecuador announces reduction of electricity rationing

The government of Ecuador announced on Wednesday a decrease in electricity rationing from 14 to eight and six hours a day during the next five days of a long holiday, in the midst of an energy crisis that threatens to last until December.

Earlier, President Daniel Noboa offered that the State pay a portion of citizens’ electricity bills until February 2025.

The reduced schedules seek to “minimize the impact” during rest days, the Ministry of Energy said in a statement, but it did not clarify whether the new schedule will remain in force once the holiday ends.

He also said that the rains of recent days “have improved the conditions of the rivers” that supply one of the largest hydroelectric plants in eastern Ecuador – Coca Codo Sinclair -, while another important complex of three plants – Mazar —, in the south of the country, its level increased from 2,111 meters (6,925 feet) to 2,114 (6,935 feet) above sea level.

72% of the country’s electricity generation system depends on water.

In a new decree issued hours before, the Ecuadorian president extended the measure for another month, which he had previously promised would cover the consumption of residential areas up to 180 kw/hour, which is equivalent to an average of 20 dollars per month on electricity bills. the homes.

At the same time, the private mobile telephone operators offered to defer the payment of the November monthly payment to three months, and the public will make the collection more flexible to six months, according to an agreement referred to by the Minister of Government, Arturo Félix, in the social network X. The government also offered to provide additional internet coverage to users in compensation, Telecommunications Minister César Martín said.

These announcements come in the midst of rationing of up to 14 hours – which is in effect until Wednesday night – and which have had a strong impact on Ecuadorian families, who see their routines altered due to the prolonged cuts, and also on small and medium-sized businesses, as well as large industries.

Ecuador is going through an energy crisis that authorities attribute to the worst drought in the last 60 years, especially in the southern zone. The operation is affected by the lack of water in the flows of the rivers that feed it.

The productive sector and specialists have questioned the latest governments, including that of Noboa, for not taking action in the face of a situation that was avoidable, since periods of low rainfall occur every year and there were already warnings in internal reports of the electricity operator. .

Energy rationing began at the end of last year, in the final stretch of President Guillermo Lasso’s government, and continued during the beginning of Noboa’s government.

Noboa requested the day before his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, sell energy to alleviate the situation, but the response was negative. The State was waiting to be able to acquire energy from private companies in that country.

The Ecuadorian government has proposed as an alternative the use of electric generators, powered by fuel, and the increase in generation in thermoelectric plants, which, it has said, grew by more than 400 megawatts. The supply deficit ranges between 1,000 and 1,400 megawatts, according to official figures.

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