QUITO, Ecuador (AP) 鈥� on Tuesday began to ration electricity in the country's main cities as a drought linked to the El Ni帽o weather pattern depletes reservoirs and limits output at hydroelectric plants that produce about 75% of the nation鈥檚 power.
The power cuts were announced on Monday night by the ministry of energy, which said in a statement that it would review its decision on Wednesday night.
鈥淲e urge Ecuadorians to cut their electricity consumption in this critical week,鈥� the statement read. 鈥淎nd consider that each kilowatt and each drop of water that are not consumed will help us face this reality.鈥�
The power cuts in Ecuador come days after dry weather as its reservoirs reached record lows, threatening local supplies of tap water.
In the town of La Calera, on the outskirts of Bogot谩, water trucks visited neighborhoods where water has been scarce recently because a local stream that supplies the town with water is drying up. Local residents lined up outside the water trucks with buckets to collect as much as they could carry.
鈥淚'm worried about what's happening,鈥� said Carlos Arturo Rueda, a 72-year-old who was gathering water from the truck. 鈥淲e need to do more to preserve this precious liquid.鈥�
Precipitation has diminished in Ecuador and Colombia this year due to warming temperatures in the south Pacific Ocean, which can cause floods along South America鈥檚 west coast but can also generate intense droughts in the Andean valleys, where many of Ecuador鈥檚 and Colombia鈥檚 main cities are located.
In Colombia, where hydroelectric plants are also struggling, officials said on Tuesday that they are considering awarding tax credits to companies that reduce their electricity consumption.
During the first week of April Colombia suspended electricity exports to Ecuador in an attempt to save energy for domestic needs. Colombia gets around 70% of its electricity from hydroelectric plants.
Camilo Prieto, a professor at Bogot谩's Javeriana University, said that the current spell of dry weather is not as extreme as previous droughts related to El Ni帽o, such as a drought that caused power cuts in Colombia in the early 1990s. But he added that demand for electricity has grown over the years in Colombia and Ecuador, while these countries have made the 鈥渕istake鈥� of continuing to rely on hydroelectric power.
鈥淭he world has learned that an energy mix that is diverse and combines different kinds of low-emission sources is safer and more reliable,鈥� Prieto said. 鈥淚f demand continues to grow and the energy mix in these countries is not diversified, they will continue to be vulnerable.鈥�
On Tuesday newspapers around Ecuador published schedules for power cuts in cities that included Quito, Cuenca and Guayaquil, where most homes and many businesses were left without power for three hours.
Ecuador had also experienced power cuts, related to droughts in October, January and February.
Karen Verduga, the owner of a restaurant with six employees in Quito, said that she was afraid some of her frozen meats and vegetables would decompose if the current round of power cuts continues.
She said that her workers could not use blenders to make soups and sauces. Instead they were preparing food manually for several hours. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been forced to do things the old fashioned way,鈥� Verduga said.
Some merchants said the power cuts provided them with opportunities.
Oriannis Arcano, a saleswoman at a small candle shop, said that the blackouts have helped to boost her sales. Yet, she said the blackouts presented problems for her business because 鈥渕ost people want to pay with cards鈥� that don鈥檛 work when there鈥檚 no electricity.
During an event in Guayaquil, Ecuador鈥檚 largest city, said that some power plants in the country had been 鈥渟abotaged鈥� by his political rivals. Ecuador is set to hold a referendum Sunday where some of Noboa's security policies will be voted on, including a proposal to legalize the extradition of drug traffickers and other dangerous criminals.
Noboa did not provide any evidence of the alleged acts of sabotage, but said investigations will be launched. He also wrote a message on X, formerly Twitter, asking Ecuador鈥檚 energy minister to resign.
鈥淭hreats to our country require strong decisions,鈥� Noboa wrote in the message where he also said that the nation's government will subsidize electricity bills in April. 鈥淭he people of Ecuador cannot pay for the corruption and inefficiency of a few miserable鈥� officials.
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Rueda reported from Bogot谩
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Gonzalo Solano And Manuel Rueda, The Associated Press
