Severe energy crisis paralyzes Ecuador for two days
President Daniel Noboa has suspended work and school on Thursday and Friday, and accuses the outgoing energy minister of having hidden the problem
Ecuador is in the dark. Not only because the more-than-seven-hour long blackouts continued throughout the country on Wednesday, despite the presidential announcement that they would be suspended, but also because it’s not known who is behind the crisis in the energy sector, nor the scale of the problem. Decisions taken by the Ecuadorian government have provided some clues. For example, the president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, signed a decree that will paralyze the country for two days. On Thursday and Friday, school will be suspended and there will be no work in either the public or private sectors.
The document said that the move is to ensure “rest and leisure,” but a few hours after it was signed, the underlying reason for the move was revealed: the critical conditions of the two most important reservoirs that provide water to the country’s hydroelectric plants. “Mazar is registering an operational storage level of 0% and Paute of 4%,” said a statement from the presidency. Ecuador’s electricity provider CENACE said the situation has reached record lows, warning that the energy deficit in the country is up to 27 gigawatts per day.
The Ecuadorian government said that based on a preliminary investigation carried out by the new energy minister, Roberto Luque, the crisis is not only related to the lack of rain that has extended the drought period, but to acts of corruption and negligence by high-level Energy Ministry officials, including former minister Andrea Arrobo. “They intentionally hid information crucial for the functioning of the national energy system,” the statement said…
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