٠٠:٠٣:١٤Ecuador's government has declared a state of emergency in the electricity sector a couple of months after a nationwide outage that plunged the country of approximately 18 million people into darkness amid widespread power failure triggered by a severe drought impacting key dams and their hydroelectric power plants.
Footage captured on Friday reveals the critical situation at the Mazar dam and hydroelectric power plant in Ecuador’s Azuay province, which has ceased functioning due to the extreme drought.
Local residents have expressed serious concerns about the hardships caused by the power outages.
"There is nothing we can do about the weather, but there should be alternatives. The government should provide us with alternatives so that citizens are not harmed by power outages," said Mayi Paredes, a resident.
She further criticised what she termed as 'poor management and inefficiency,' emphasising that citizens should not have to endure the consequences of these shortcomings.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines has announced that the declared emergency will enable urgent and necessary actions to be carried out within the sector.
"I consider it a great inconvenience for the entire city because commerce comes to a halt. As a result, we all feel very affected, not only businesses but also households, because we have to wait for the power to come back," said Ramiro Cueva, a resident.
Cueva also mentioned that many have resorted to using candles and that the outages are negatively impacting mobility, particularly in the city of Cuenca.
In response to the crisis, the Ministry of Economy and Finance has been urged to allocate sufficient additional resources to the Ecuadorian Electric Corporation to manage the emergency effectively.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines further stated that additional electricity generation units are expected to become available by the third quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025.
In June, Ecuador experienced a nationwide blackout attributed by the government to inadequate maintenance and failures within the transmission system, highlighting underlying issues within the electricity sector.
‘We all feel very affected’- Ecuador declares emergency in electricity sector due to drought-induced dam shutdown
Ecuador's government has declared a state of emergency in the electricity sector a couple of months after a nationwide outage that plunged the country of approximately 18 million people into darkness amid widespread power failure triggered by a severe drought impacting key dams and their hydroelectric power plants.
Footage captured on Friday reveals the critical situation at the Mazar dam and hydroelectric power plant in Ecuador’s Azuay province, which has ceased functioning due to the extreme drought.
Local residents have expressed serious concerns about the hardships caused by the power outages.
"There is nothing we can do about the weather, but there should be alternatives. The government should provide us with alternatives so that citizens are not harmed by power outages," said Mayi Paredes, a resident.
She further criticised what she termed as 'poor management and inefficiency,' emphasising that citizens should not have to endure the consequences of these shortcomings.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines has announced that the declared emergency will enable urgent and necessary actions to be carried out within the sector.
"I consider it a great inconvenience for the entire city because commerce comes to a halt. As a result, we all feel very affected, not only businesses but also households, because we have to wait for the power to come back," said Ramiro Cueva, a resident.
Cueva also mentioned that many have resorted to using candles and that the outages are negatively impacting mobility, particularly in the city of Cuenca.
In response to the crisis, the Ministry of Economy and Finance has been urged to allocate sufficient additional resources to the Ecuadorian Electric Corporation to manage the emergency effectively.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines further stated that additional electricity generation units are expected to become available by the third quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025.
In June, Ecuador experienced a nationwide blackout attributed by the government to inadequate maintenance and failures within the transmission system, highlighting underlying issues within the electricity sector.
Ecuador's government has declared a state of emergency in the electricity sector a couple of months after a nationwide outage that plunged the country of approximately 18 million people into darkness amid widespread power failure triggered by a severe drought impacting key dams and their hydroelectric power plants.
Footage captured on Friday reveals the critical situation at the Mazar dam and hydroelectric power plant in Ecuador’s Azuay province, which has ceased functioning due to the extreme drought.
Local residents have expressed serious concerns about the hardships caused by the power outages.
"There is nothing we can do about the weather, but there should be alternatives. The government should provide us with alternatives so that citizens are not harmed by power outages," said Mayi Paredes, a resident.
She further criticised what she termed as 'poor management and inefficiency,' emphasising that citizens should not have to endure the consequences of these shortcomings.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines has announced that the declared emergency will enable urgent and necessary actions to be carried out within the sector.
"I consider it a great inconvenience for the entire city because commerce comes to a halt. As a result, we all feel very affected, not only businesses but also households, because we have to wait for the power to come back," said Ramiro Cueva, a resident.
Cueva also mentioned that many have resorted to using candles and that the outages are negatively impacting mobility, particularly in the city of Cuenca.
In response to the crisis, the Ministry of Economy and Finance has been urged to allocate sufficient additional resources to the Ecuadorian Electric Corporation to manage the emergency effectively.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines further stated that additional electricity generation units are expected to become available by the third quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025.
In June, Ecuador experienced a nationwide blackout attributed by the government to inadequate maintenance and failures within the transmission system, highlighting underlying issues within the electricity sector.