The government of Ecuador announced that it would suspend electricity service for nine hours this Sunday in 12 of the country’s 24 provinces, due to low production at the main hydroelectric plants affected by the drought.
The Emergency Operations Committee (EOC), after a emergency meeting in the Andean city of Cuenca, decided this Saturday to suspend the electricity service “in certain areas, with the “in order to safeguard (protect) water resources” of the country, reported the General Secretariat of Communication of the Presidency.
This Sunday, the electricity service will therefore be suspended. 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time (1:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. GMT) in the Andean provinces of Azuay, Bolívar, Cañar, Carchi, Cotopaxi and Imbabura; as well as in the Amazonian areas of Morona Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Sucumbíos and Zamora Chinchipe, the source added in an official statement.
They stayed out of measurethe coastal provinces, several in the Andean sector (including Pichincha, whose capital is Quito) and the Galapagos Island.
Furthermore, the Communication Secretariat indicated that the national COE will assess the situation this Sunday noon and will announce “the additional measures that prove necessary.
The Executive invited citizens to “face this situation together” and expressed confidence that they would achieve good results and alleviate the energy problem. measures such as “cloud bombing” to cause rains and the recruitment of electricity production barges from foreign companies.
The Secretariat for Communication also assured that The country has been experiencing the worst drought in 61 years for 71 days.which has worsened the forest fire situation.
Over the past month, the source added, there have been more than 1,330 forest fires and assured that the dry season has highlighted the country’s dependence on its water resources.
Previously, the same Secretariat had indicated that before the “complex water situation”As a preliminary, the provinces that could be most affected by the drought would be the Andean provinces of Azuay, Cañar and Cotopaxi; as well as the Amazonian provinces of Zamora Chinchipe and Morona Santiago.
Last Thursday, the national COE declared 14 of the country’s 24 provinces on “red alert” due to drought and the proliferation of forest fires.
The National Secretariat for Risk Management reported on the same day that between August 23 and September 18, 23,453.48 hectares had been recorded affected by 1,337 forest fires in 21 of the country’s 24 provinces.
This Saturday, the Secretariat of Risks, in a document released in digital media, indicated that there would be 19 provinces in the “red alert” category due to the impact of the rainfall deficit and forest fires.
The dry season also exposed the crisis in the country’s electricity sector due to the drop in flow rates feeding the main hydroelectric power stations.
The Executive, which had already ordered reductions of two to six hours – depending on the sectors and areas – between Wednesday and last Thursday, had announced new cuts for next week, but with the decision of the COE, the rationing has been brought forward.
Last Friday, the government asked the private sector to activate its electricity generators to ease the crisis, since their contribution could reach around 300 megawatts.
More than two-thirds of Ecuador’s electricity matrix corresponds to hydroelectric sources, especially the Coca-Codo-Sinclair plants, the largest with 1,500 megawatts of power, and the Paute River plant, which generates around 1,000 megawatts and is one of the hardest hit by the drought.
Each hour of electricity rationing would cause losses in the country of around 12 million dollars (around 10.7 million euros), according to an estimate by the Ministry of Energy and Mines. EFECOM
