Emergency Operations Committee orders Sunday blackouts for Azuay and 11 other provinces

Late Saturday night, the National Emergency Operations Committee ordered electric blackouts for Sunday in 12 provinces, including Azuay Province. Besides Azuay, electric service was suspended in Bolívar, Cañar, Carchi, Cotopaxi, Imbabura, Morona Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Sucumbíos and Zamora Chinchipe Provinces for periods ranging from two to five hours during daytime hours.

The 12 affected provinces are among 19 under a government “red alert” as a result of extreme drought conditions.

The national Emergency Operations Committee met Saturday night in Cuenca.

Due to the short notice provided by the COE, most local electric distributors in the 12 provinces were unable to provide advance schedules of Sunday’s blackouts.

Managers from Centrosur, the electric utility serving Cuenca and Azuay Province, apologized on local radio and social media for the lack of schedules and other problems on the Centrosur website. They said blackouts would be for periods of two to four hours, although they could be longer in some areas.

They also said schedules will be posted for the previously announced nighttime blackouts Monday through Thursday this week.

The COE said the blackouts were ordered to protect water resources and maintain reservoir levels at the country’s hydroelectric plants as a result of the “unprecedented crisis due to the most severe drought in 61 years.”

The COE said it is reviewing this week’s blackouts ordered by the Energy Ministry and will notify the public of any changes.