( Spanish) – Ecuador’s Emergency Operations Committee (COE) met on Saturday in the southern city of Cuenca to urgently discuss new measures to address the energy crisis affecting the country due to the drought and the complex state of hydroelectric plants that cannot operate at full capacity.
The Communications Secretariat reported that after a technical evaluation, government authorities ordered the suspension of power service in certain areas of twelve provinces: Azuay, Bolívar, Cañar, Carchi, Cotopaxi, Imbabura, Morona Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Sucumbíos and Zamora Chinchipe.
The schedule for the new blackouts will be from 8 am to 5 pm starting this Sunday.
“On Sunday at noon, after evaluating the water situation in the region, the country and each province, the necessary additional measures will be announced,” the Communications Secretariat said.
The power cuts will therefore be brought forward on Sunday, after the government had planned for them to begin on Monday evening and last for four days.
On the other hand, the Minister of the Environment, Inés Manzano, who chairs the COE, reported that the authorities, based on technical reports, decided to expand the declaration of red alert due to water deficit, forest fires and food security from 15 to 19 provinces: Azuay, Bolívar, Cañar, Carchi, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Imbabura, Loja, Manabí, Morona Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Pichincha, Santa Elena, Sucumbíos, Tungurahua, Galápagos and Zamora Chinchipe. Ecuador has a total of 24 provinces.
The purpose of the resolution, according to the Government, is to safeguard the integrity of the population, infrastructure and livelihoods, which are being affected by drought conditions nationwide.
Minister Manzano asked the Security Block, made up of the Police and Armed Forces, to continue with the tasks of security and safeguarding citizens and strategic assets to face this emergency.
Last Wednesday, Ecuador faced a national blackout in several provinces within a range of eight hours and with schedule variations depending on the city or neighborhood. Citizens in the streets and several experts insist that the Government of Daniel Noboa should take more precautions to face this energy crisis that has been dragging the country since last year when the purchase of energy from Colombia intensified.
The Ecuadorian Chamber of Industries estimates that for every night of blackouts, the productive sector loses US$20 million.
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