Ecuador Extends Drought-induced Power Cuts To 14 Hours A Day

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Ecuador on Friday lengthened scheduled electricity rationing from eight to 14 hours per day due to the worst drought it has faced in six decades, the energy minister announced.

"We have taken the painful but responsible decision to change the rationing plan, increasing it from eight to 14 hours a day," Energy and Mines Minister Ines Manzano said in a video posted on social networks at the crack of dawn on Friday.

Low water levels have caused the reservoirs of hydroelectric plants that cover 70 percent of national demand to fall to critical levels in recent months.

In April Ecuador imposed electricity rationing of up to 13 hours a day.

The outages have been adjusted down to eight hours a day and were due to be reduced further to six hours from next Monday, and even down to four hours early next month.

The minister said the latest schedule would be reviewed on Sunday.

"We are facing a dynamic and unprecedented crisis that forces us to adapt to changing scenarios," Manzano said.

"All of South America is facing an unprecedented drought and Ecuador is no exception. Several countries have power outages and we have all seen shocking images of a dry Amazon River," said the minister.

Ecuador requires 4,600 MW of electricity for its 17 million people, but faced a deficit of 1,600 MW.

A chamber of commerce association estimates that blackouts are costing Ecuador around $12 million every hour.

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