Energy crisis in Ecuador: Noboa declared a state of emergency in the sector and asked the region's minister to resign

president of ecuador, Daniel NoboaToday, Tuesday, a state of emergency was declared in the electricity sector He called for the resignation of the Minister of EnergyThis is after the start of the planned reductions due to the drought that the country is witnessing.

He said: I declared a state of emergency in the electricity sector and demanded the resignation of the Minister of Energy (Andrea Arrobo)” Noboa wrote on his account on the social network X.

Noboa confirmed, without giving further details, that “in some power plants there were sabotage“We will not allow this to happen.” He stated that his administration had filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office.

Noboa appointed Transport Minister Roberto Luque in charge of energy after the resignation of Andrea Arrobo. Noboa noted in a statement sent by the Ecuadorian presidency that “the problems of the energy sector in Ecuador in recent years are not due to a lack of technical proposals, but rather to a lack of firmness in the fight against corruption and deficits in the sector.” .

On Monday evening, the ministry announced “temporary rationing” due to the drought and asked residents to “reduce energy consumption in this critical week.”

On the same day, Colombia announced that it had stopped exporting energy to Ecuador as a measure to deal with a serious drought linked to the El Niño phenomenon that had brought that country's reservoirs below sea level. 30% From her ability.

This Tuesday he was there Cuts up to three hours. The service was stopped according to the timetables set by the electricity supplying companies.

However, the President noted that “the problems of the energy sector in Ecuador in recent years are not due to a lack of technical proposals, but rather to the inability to implement and resolutely combat rampant corruption” in electricity companies.

After the ministry's announcement, Noboa gave different instructions regarding the cuts and confirmed this in April Only 50% of your home electricity bill will be charged.

“We will not see any more power outages this week,” said the president from Guayaquil (southwest), where he offered scholarships and campaigned for the popular poll to be held on Sunday.

The government did not specify when the power outage would stop.

The cuts occurred in the capital Guayaquil – In its vicinity there is the largest industrial settlement in the country – and in cities Cuenca and Manta, The most populous in the country, among others.

Since the end of the week, legalization has been recorded, without warning, for at least two hours in about 10 provinces, which became known through social networks.

The Ministry of Energy indicated in a statement issued on Monday evening that it had ordered temporary reductions to manage demand at the national level and asked citizens to reduce consumption “in this critical week” in which rains are expected that could reactivate power generation in the country’s main hydroelectric power stations.

During the era of his predecessor, President Guillermo LasoEcuador faced power outages lasting up to four hours due to low flows in rivers that feed hydroelectric power plants.

On this occasion, Ecuador Reaching an agreement with Colombia To buy energy.

The company that operates Colombian reservoirs recorded in March the export of 129 GWh to Ecuador, increasing its energy imports at the end of 2023, also due to drought-related conditions. Boy and global warming

(With information from AFP and Associated Press)