Quito. The government in Ecuador has rationed electricity supply due to energy supply shortages. In some regions, electricity was cut off for up to 14 hours a day and night between September 30 and October 6. The measure was unexpected for the population. However, after some rain in the past few days, the power cuts have recently been reduced somewhat.
Only in the spring did the government impose nationwide rationing from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. in order to minimize the energy crisis that has affected the country since 2023. The scenario now repeated itself again.
Ecuador gets 75 percent of its electricity from hydropower. The electricity therefore depends on the flow of water in the rivers. Due to a severe drought, historic lows were recorded in the country’s reservoirs. This is also related to the El Niño weather phenomenon.
“It’s chaos,” President Daniel Noboa said last week at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. While Noboa was in the United States, the ministers responsible for energy and the environment had to explain the rationing to the country.
“I don’t have good news,” admitted Antonio Congalves, Minister of Energy and Mines, in Quito at the end of September. The country’s second largest reservoir, Mazar, which feeds two hydroelectric power plants that together generate 1,500 megawatts (MW), reached a critical level at the end of September due to a lack of rain.
With the rains in the Sierra and the Amazon, the output of the Coca Codo Sinclair power plant, the largest in the country with an output of 1,500 MW, was improved and the level of the Mazar reservoir increased slightly. The power cuts have therefore been reduced somewhat since last Friday, the Ministry of Energy announced.
The Energy Minister assured that the government will continue to monitor the situation across the country and hopes that with the inclusion of more thermal and renewable energy, it will be possible to reduce the country’s electricity deficit.
The current deficit is approximately 1,080 MW. In some cases, such as Paute, operations were temporarily halted completely to wait for rain. The government therefore purchased an additional 430 MW and was also able to import electricity from Colombia. In the spring, the neighboring country had to stop its electricity exports to Ecuador because it was also struggling with shortages due to the drought.
In addition to the lack of water, the lack of rainfall also promotes forest fires and endangers food security. The government has therefore declared a red alert in 19 provinces.
Last week, several unions in the South American country warned of the impact of the power outages on the country’s industry and economy.
According to the president of the Quito Chamber of Commerce, each day of power outage causes $3.5 million in damage to the country’s economy. Other economic actors estimate losses per day of power outages at as much as $25 million.
The manufacturing industry is particularly hard hit by the rationing, as it also has to produce at night, i.e. during times of power outages, as the Cuenca Chamber of Industry, Production and Employment explains.
The energy crisis is not a new phenomenon. When Noboa took over the reins of government in 2023, there were four-hour power cuts per day, which have become more severe over time. One of the first bills the administration introduced in Congress, called “Zero Blackouts,” was supported by lawmakers. According to experts, the government has failed to invest in the energy sector for years.
