Faced with its worst drought in 60 years and with its hydroelectric plants threatened, Ecuador will implement eight-hour nationwide nightly blackouts and teleworking in the public sector, the government of Daniel Noboa announced.
"Faced with the worst drought in 61 years and in order to responsibly manage the control of our electrical system," the Ecuadorian government announced in a statement that, in principle, blackouts will be registered throughout the country from 10 pm local time (3:00 GMT) until 6 am (11:00 GMT) between Monday 23 and Thursday 26 September next week.
US$ 12 MILLION FOR EVERY HOUR OF BLACKOUT
Ecuador, with 17 million inhabitants, loses around US$ 12 million for every hour of power outage, according to the Chamber of Commerce of the port of Guayaquil, the commercial hub of the nation.
Perhaps for this reason, and unlike other previous periods of electricity rationing, where power cuts occurred during the day at different time slots and in different areas, this time they will cover the entire country at the same time and will take place at night.
"The established power cut-off time has been chosen with the aim of generating the least possible impact on productive activities and the development of working days," said the Executive, in light of a drought that affects the reservoirs of several hydroelectric plants, the main source of electricity supply in the country.
In this regard, the Government added that it will also impose teleworking in the public sector on Thursday and Friday of this week, September 19 and 20, and next week, September 26 and 27.
FROM THIS SEPTEMBER 18, WITH CURFEW
Last Sunday, the Ecuadorian government had already announced another general blackout for this Wednesday, September 18, at the same time, due to "preventive maintenance" on the energy transmission system.
According to Interior Minister Mónica Palencia, this rationing will be accompanied by a curfew, which will be declared as a security measure in the country, affected by violence from organized crime, under the state of "internal armed conflict" that President Daniel Noboa declared at the beginning of the year.
This Thursday, the Armed Forces are expected to take control of the Mazar reservoir, the second largest in the country, as ordered by Noboa in the previous days to avoid sabotage in this critical infrastructure for supplying the national electricity demand.
The Mazar reservoir, located in the southern Andean province of Azuay, has a capacity of 410 million cubic meters of water and serves to supply a complex of three hydroelectric plants located in the Paute River basin with an installed capacity of 1,757 megawatts.
However, in recent days the level of this water reserve has dropped dramatically due to the lack of rain in the Andes mountains for several months.
BLACKOUTS FROM 2023
This is the third period of blackouts that Ecuador will endure in less than a year, after the one that occurred at the end of 2023, due to drought and low river flows.
The Ecuadorian electricity sector had already been declared in a state of emergency in April. That month, Ecuador suffered power rationing for up to 13 hours a day.
New cuts occurred in June as rains caused sediment to build up, putting the Mazar dam in the southern Andes, which supplies water to a complex of three hydroelectric plants, at risk.
Earlier this month, there was a power outage in eleven of Ecuador's twenty-four provinces that lasted several hours due to a fault at the Paute hydroelectric plant, according to the state-owned National Electricity Operator (Cenace).
FLOATING ELECTRICITY RENTAL AND IMPORTATION FROM COLOMBIA
The government had warned in previous months of the high probability that the country would return to blackouts due to the severe dry season, so it established processes for contracting and renting electricity generation to deal with this crisis.
Among these processes is the rental of a floating power plant from the company Karpowership, belonging to the Turkish energy group Karadeniz, which since last week has been generating some 100 megawatts for the Ecuadorian electrical system.
Electricity imported by Ecuador from Colombia was also crucial in the blackouts of the previous months. Ecuador is currently facing an energy deficit of around 1,000 megawatts, of which at least 100 will be covered by the thermal barge contracted by the government, reports the AFP news agency.
TURKISH BARGE ACTIVATED
Among the recent measures to combat the energy crisis, the decision of the Turkish company Karpowership stands out. The consortium reported that as of 8:00 p.m. on Monday, September 16, the National Operator of the Electric System of Ecuador (Cenace) declared the Powership Emre Bey barge with 100 megawatts (MW) of effective power in commercial operation.
This is after complying “with the requirements established in the relevant regulations of the Andean country for the experimental operation phase, and having delivered energy to the national electrical system in a constant and reliable manner during this phase,” the company indicated in a statement released on Tuesday.
Karpowership adds that it will remain, from the time and date indicated, at the service of the National Electric System, providing electric energy in a safe and reliable manner, under the requirements of Cenace, in compliance with a contract signed with the Electric Corporation of Ecuador (CELEC).
During these days, tests were carried out, supplying energy on an experimental basis. Since last Saturday, it was expected that the delivery of electricity to the national interconnected system on a commercial basis would begin.
The first interconnection took place on Sunday, September 8. The barge is currently at the dock that used to be Ecuagran, in the south of Guayaquil.
The Vice Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Rafael Quintero, then indicated that it will remain there for 90 days and after that time the vessel will have to return to Las Esclusas, where it was initially planned to position itself to generate energy through the plant.
The barge had to be moved to the dock that was once Ecuagran after complications with the mooring occurred due to the “unusual lateral currents” that occurred, which also postponed the start of the tests that were initially scheduled for August 26.
