Government announces reduction in blackout hours due to recent rain and new power generation

Beginning Friday, power blackouts will be reduced to four hours a day, the government said Wednesday. The Energy Ministry said the change is due to recent rainfall, improved energy conservation and the addition of new electric generation sources.

The new schedule comes amid growing anger of the government’s handling of the energy crisis and concern for the economic cost of the blackouts.

The Energy Ministry said improving conditions will more than offset the loss of electric transfers from Colombia, which is temporarily suspending sales to Ecuador as a result of its own drought-related power crisis.

Under the new blackout schedule, the ministry said power cuts will occur between midnight and 8 a.m. Monday through Thursday and to from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. from Friday to Saturday. In most cases, the ministry said the cuts will occur two times a day for periods of two hours. It added that specific schedules will be posted by local utility companies on Thursday.

In addition to recent rains, the government said the addition of new power sources, including a Turkish thermal generation barge and private onshore plants, is adding hundreds of megawatts to the national power grid.

On Monday, the energy ministry said it is urging large companies to use their own power generators and temporarily cut connections to the national grid. The ministry said companies will be compensated for providing their own power.

Energy Minister Antonio Goncalves said Colombia’s decision to end power transfers to Ecuador was not unexpected. “They are suffering the same drought conditions and have been forced to shut down several of their hydro generation plants,” he said. “Like us, they have ordered blackouts in some areas of the country.”

He added: “Once conditions change, they will resume electricity transfers, depending on our needs.”

Since July, Colombia has transferred as much as 350 megawatts to Ecuador’s power grid, although the amount has dropped below 200 megawatts recently.

Complaints about the government’s response to the crisis continue to grow as businesses complain of economic loses and the National Assembly begins an investigation. On Tuesday, Presidential candidate Jan Topic accused President Daniel Noboa of “gross mismanagement” and using “stupid diversionary tactics” to deflect criticism.

Meanwhile, social media sites are overloaded with citizen complaints about blackouts that don’t correspond to posted schedules and poor government communication.