Quito, Ecuador — As Christmas approaches and people decorate their homes with lights, Ecuadorians are feeling some relief from the severe power outages that have ravaged the country this year, with President Daniel Noboa saying there will be no electricity rationing in residential areas – for now.
But some of the country’s largest mines, cement plants and steel plants will not be so lucky, facing continued energy rationing in the last two weeks of December, according to Ecuador’s Energy Ministry. There are no guarantees that rationing will stop next year.
This contrast between residential and industrial areas has raised concerns in Ecuador’s business community about the future of the economy. Companies in the South American country are losing out An estimated $700 million each week of daily power outages, according to the Chamber of Commerce in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city.
Ecuador’s latest energy rationing plan, which began on December 20, has also led some analysts to question whether President Noboa is using the country’s scarce supply of electricity to achieve political goals.
Ecuador will hold presidential elections in February, and Noboa, a conservative who has promised to fix the country’s electricity crisis and address its growing problem with drug gangs, plans to run for re-election.
The 37-year-old was voted into office In early elections At the end of last year, after his predecessor was forced to dissolve Congress amid corruption investigations, ending his term prematurely.
“Noboa wants to prevent people from feeling frustrated or angry with the government,” said Hernan Reyes, a political science professor at Andina University in the capital, Quito.
For Esteban Ron, dean of social sciences at SEK University in Quito, Noboa’s decision to suspend power outages in residential areas is part of an effort by the president to “redeem himself” with Ecuadorian voters and “show that he is fighting for the people.” “
Since the end of last year, Ecuador has been suffering from power outages, which the government attributes to mismanagement of power plants and a drought caused by the El Nino climate phenomenon.
The country of 15 million people has invested heavily in hydropower over the past two decades, as it looks to promote cheap, renewable energy sources. But it has few alternatives to the electricity generated at its dams, which produce between 70% and 90% of Ecuador’s monthly power supply.
As rainfall in Ecuador fell to its lowest levels in 60 years this summer, the government was forced to implement power outages in several cities for up to 60 years. 14 hours a day.
But last week, Noboa’s administration said in a statement that weather conditions were improving and that maintenance problems at some hydroelectric power plants in Ecuador had been fixed. The Ecuadorian government also said an agreement had been reached to import electricity from neighboring Colombia, eliminating the need for power outages in residential areas.
Business leaders in Ecuador remain concerned about ongoing cuts to industrial sites and question whether it is wise to prioritize residential areas.
“You cannot sacrifice production and employment in order to make promises (for residential areas) that may not last,” said Patricio Alarcón, former president of the Quito Chamber of Commerce.
Marco Acuña, head of Ecuador’s National Engineers Union, said power outages may return to residential areas after the holiday because Ecuador has not yet significantly diversified its energy sources.
Acuña said Ecuador’s fossil fuel power plants currently produce less than 40% of the electricity they are designed to generate due to problems with engines and machinery. He said the recent agreement to import electricity from Colombia would only cover about 8% of Ecuador’s daily needs.
Meanwhile, Ecuadorian citizens are enjoying a respite from the daily power outages.
“I hope people will come to buy things with the same enthusiasm as before,” said Pablo Parra, a street vendor who sells Christmas trees and lights in Quito.
