Government declares energy emergency; Illegal mining kills the environment as well as people; Judge asks Abad to justify her suit against Noboa

Ecuador’s Ministry of Energy declared an emergency in Ecuador’s electricity sector Thursday, citing dropping water levels at the country’s hydroelectric generation plants. “We have entered the dry season, which means less water is available at our generation reservoirs, and today’s measure allows us to take extraordinary steps to avoid power interruptions later in the year,” the ministry said in a statement.

Energy Minister Antonio Gonçalves said the emergency is based on an executive decree issued by President Daniel Noboa on Wednesday allowing the ministry to bypass some operating procedures and regulations to address the country’s electricity needs.

Water levels at Mazar-Paute hydroelectric generation plants are dropping as the country enters the dry season.

Gonçalves said that an addition 375 MW of electricity will begin entering the power grid in September, provided by a Turkish generation barge and three thermal plants located in the coastal region. In addition, he said the ministry is completing talks with Colombia to purchase additional power if necessary. “We are also beginning actions to increase power capacity on other fronts that we will announce in the near future.”

According to Gonçalves, water levels at the reservoirs at the Mazar-Paute generation plants in eastern Azuay Province remain at operational levels but have begun to recede. “This complex provides the largest share of the country’s power so we are monitoring it closely so we can make adjustments as needed,” he said.

He added that Cuenca, 40 kilometers from Mazar-Paute, has experienced 35 days with no significant rainfall. “This is important because the four rivers that flow through the city drain into the Rio Paute, which supplies the reservoirs.”

Gonçalves added that the intent of the emergency decrees is to avoid the blackouts that plagued the country in late 2023 and early 2024. “We cannot guarantee that we can avoid all interruptions, but they will not be of the frequency or length of those experienced earlier.”

Illegal mining kills the environment as well as people
Illegal mining continues to expand in Ecuador, particularly on the Napo River in the country’s Amazon region. “The government is responding to the problem in areas such as Camilo Ponce but this part of their war on drug gangs and the fact that people are being murdered,” says environmentalist Francisco Rodríguez. “They must also realize that illegal mining is killing rivers and wetlands and that this too is a crime. It is also killing the people who depend on the polluted water.”

In an interview on NotiMundo, Rodríguez claimed the government is turning a “blind eye” on illegal activity on and near the Napo and its tributaries. “Even if these operations are not controlled by the Colombian and Mexican cartels, they are inflicting terrible damage and suffering on the people living near them, especially indigenous people,” he says. “The process used in these river mines is barbaric and there is absolutely no attempt to protect the land and the water from the chemicals that are used. The result is a very high rate of disease of those who depend on the water for drinking, farming and transportation.”

Rodríguez says it is not just outsiders who are responsible for mining disasters. “Some leaders of indigenous communities are involved and this is something that is seldom discussed. We have talked to organizations such as Conaie about this but, like the government, they prefer to ignore it.”

Judge asks VP Abad for justification
Contentious Electoral Tribunal Judge Fernando Muñoz has asked Vice President Verónica Abad to clarify the legal grounds of her charge of political gender violence against President Daniel Noboa, as well as against Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld; the Deputy Minister of Government, Esteban Torres and the counselor Diana Jácome. The judge acknowledged that Abad “has the active legitimacy to file the complaint” but said it lacked “specific explanations and details to justify its status as a legal claim.”

Muñoz gave Abad two days to update her petition.