The Ecuadorian government began imposing nationwide nighttime blackouts on Monday evening in an effort to conserve power. The move was prompted by a widespread drought that has deprived Ecuador of vital hydroelectric power generation capacity.
The office of Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa announced a power outage in Message posted on social media Last week, he said there would be an eight-hour power outage every day from Monday to Thursday, lasting from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The statement said the measure was taken due to “the worst drought in 61 years and to responsibly manage the control of our electricity system.”
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Ecuador gets about 77% of its electricity from hydroelectric generation, according to Local news outlets.
The presidency said the overnight power outage was chosen to minimize the impact on daytime activities and workdays. Public sector workers are being asked to work remotely on Thursday and Friday where possible in a further effort to reduce energy demand this week.
It is not yet clear whether the government will announce further cuts after Thursday, and much of the country experienced power outages even before that, as the government unexpectedly announced It was announced Power outage for nine hours in 12 governorates on Sunday.
The government had already cut power Wednesday night into Thursday morning for what it said was preventive maintenance on the national power grid. It imposed a curfew in six provinces and one canton as 15 substations were inspected by 115 maintenance teams, according to Noboa’s office.
National Security Officials He said 28 suspects linked to organised crime were arrested during the curfew, amid a heavy deployment of officers.
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US Embassy in Ecuador Issue an alert The US State Department issued a warning to US citizens in the country to limit their movements, noting a heavy military and police presence that could include road checkpoints. The warning also noted that international airports in Quito and Guayaquil would remain operational during the power outage.
Ecuador is no stranger to electricity problems. The country has been facing an energy crisis since last year. As recently as June, cities across Ecuador experienced power outages due to a power line failure.
Noboa declared a state of emergency in the electricity sector in April and asked the country’s energy minister to step down. suggested at that time He added that sabotage and corruption may be the cause of the country’s energy problems, and said he would personally lead a new committee tasked with finding a solution to the crisis.
The Noboa government has implemented various strategies to try to mitigate the impact of the power shortage, including rationing electricity and deploying military forces to support operations at a large hydroelectric dam.
The government has also commissioned a Turkish power generation vessel to supply the national grid with additional electricity. started generating power Last week.
