As Ecuador’s historic drought continues, power outages could last until April, said Jorge Luis Hidalgo, an energy consultant.
For decades, experts have called on authorities to increase Ecuador’s energy supply by expanding its solar and wind energy capacity and expanding its thermoelectric power plants.
But Hidalgo said that thanks to subsidies for electricity and fossil fuels, Ecuador’s energy prices are among the lowest in the region: residents and businesses pay only around 1.5 percent $0.10 per kilowatt houraccording to government estimates.
This lack of income has, in turn, discouraged the private sector from investing in alternative energy, Hidalgo said.
“As Ecuador continues to give away energy, this situation will continue,” he said.
Over the years, demand for energy has outpaced supply due to population growth, Hidalgo added. It is a problem that President Noboa himself has acknowledged.
In October, he posted a video on social media explaining that there is currently one in Ecuador Energy deficit it fluctuates between 1,000 and 1,400 megawatts.
This means that Ecuador’s electricity demand exceeded its production capacity by more than a tenth. In 2022, the country was only able to produce about 8,864 megawatts in total.
The shortage has sparked a political crisis for Noboa, which has faced street protests as a result of government-imposed power outages.
These demonstrations come at a sensitive time for Noboa. He faces re-election in 2025 as his current mandate is to complete the remainder of his predecessor’s term.
In November, demonstrators even marched to the presidential palace in Quito, chanting: “There is no light.” There is no education. And you have the courage to seek re-election?”
By December, Noboa promised to end government lockdowns. “We will return to a normal life,” he promised.
Back in November, Noboa announced that his government had spent $700 million to maintain Ecuador’s aging thermoelectric power plants, which are designed to support Ecuador’s hydroelectric power system during dry periods.
Currently, hydroelectric power plants are responsible for generating about 70 percent of Ecuador’s energy.
Noboa also agreed with Colombia to continue buying energy from the neighboring country. Earlier this year, Colombia had Reduce electricity exports to Ecuador because of its own drought problems.
The Ecuadorian government has also located a floating thermoelectric power plant from Turkey with a capacity of 100 megawatts and 23 electricity generators with a total capacity of 80 megawatts.
In addition, Noboa has removed an energy subsidy for mining companies.
“The mining companies in Ecuador use more energy than a hospital needs to run. And yet their energy tariff was subsidized by the state,” Noboa said wrote on social media in October. “The subsidies must go to those who need them most.”
But for the families hardest hit by the power outages, like Samueza’s, the changes may come too late.
Since he was laid off, his wife has taken on the role of breadwinner for the family and works as treasurer at a logistics company. Meanwhile, Samueza is trying out driving for a ride-sharing app, which previously paid him less than minimum wage.
With a tighter household budget, the holiday season will likely come and go without much fanfare, Samueza said.
But he is optimistic that the power outages will have stopped in the new year and the economy will have recovered enough that he may be able to find a job.
Still, he is frustrated with the government because of his current predicament.
“There should be no power outages,” Samueza said. “A government should be prepared for such cases, especially since we already went through the same thing in April and May. The fact that they have done nothing to adapt speaks poorly of the government.”
