(Bloomberg) -- Ecuador’s president, Daniel Noboa, appointed a fourth energy minister in 10 months in office as the government had to expand daily blackouts even after weeks of crippling shutdowns.
Early Wednesday, Energy Minister Antonio Gonçalves acknowledged that critically low reservoir levels force the government to expand blackouts to 10 hours a day, while protecting supply of some key industries after business associations balked at a weekend order to shut down for days at a time.
Hours later, Noboa made Environment Minister Ines Manzano acting energy minister. He tasked the career environmental lawyer with ending the nation’s over-reliance on hydroelectric power.
Ecuador, a former OPEC member, has abundant energy resources including crude oil and sunshine. Over-reliance on power plants that hinge on rainfall feeding Amazon-area rivers has led to the blackouts amid a record drought.
Neighboring Colombia has stopped selling Ecuador electricity as it attempts to protect its own supply. Thermoelectric power plants meanwhile weren’t properly maintained, and red tape has stymied investment in photovoltaic and wind energy.
“It’s impossible to find a perfect solution in the short term,” said energy analyst Sebastian Abad, pointing to a lack of investment to match rising demand under Noboa’s predecessors.
To deal with the crisis in the short term, the government hired a 120-megawatt-capacity Turkish barge that hasn’t offset the shortfall in supply.
Some precipitation has returned, but the level of the Mazar dam, which is critical for the regulation of hydrology, is at a level where uncontrollable shutdowns are likely.
After winning an out-of-cycle election last year, the 36-year-old president had a bill passed promising “no more blackouts” in January that failed to have any positive impact, Abad said. Noboa is seeking reelection in a regular vote next Feb. 9. Polls currently put him in the lead in a field of 16 candidates.
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