The purchase of a new generation of electricity through distribution and the import of gas through isotanks are two of the measures that the Government will take in order to end the announced blackouts that begin this Friday, October 27. -December. The purchase of heating oil engines by Celec EP was previously announced.

After the announcement of the main energy authorities: Minister of Energy, Fernando Santos; manager of the Electric Corporation of Ecuador (Celec), Gonzalo Uquillas; the manager of the National Electricity Operator (Cenace), Gabriel Argüello, and the manager of the Quito Electric Company, Marcelo Jaramillo, that four-hour blackouts are already starting in the Sierra and Amazon and three hours on the coast, the authorities also reported on the measures they are taking so that these reductions are temporary , that is, a month and a half.

The announcements of these measures, which come on the brink of the beginning of the power outages, are accompanied by a series of justifications from the authorities who do not think that anything more could have been done to avoid the problem of power outages. Among the factors they mention are that this was the worst drought in 50 years, that the Mazar reservoir could not have been predicted to be at its minimum at the end of October, as this is not normal behavior, that there were many poorly executed electrical projects and others that were not completed, among other things.

Thus, Minister Fernando Santos reported that the shutdowns will be temporary until the new generation of energy for 465 MW, whose process is led by the Quito Electric Company and other distributors in the country, is completed. These will come via barges or overland solutions. The cost of this solution will be 160 million dollars, which will be borne by distribution companies, and prices will not increase for consumers.

On that topic, Marcelo Jaramillo, from the Quito Electric Company, explained that contracting will last six months and that the first actions for that process have already been taken. First of all, research was conducted on the production market, which can exist inside and outside the country. 18 companies are interested and the envelopes have already been opened and the results are quite competitive as the price would be 8.5 lipa plus fuel. We are working on this issue 24/7 so that the offers arrive in 30 or 45 days, i.e. mid-November; At the end of December, you could count on energy.

All of this is based on the Agreement on the temporary association of 20 distributors in the country, which will enable “the implementation of the selection and contracting procedure for obtaining energy with a power of 465 MW, for a period of six months.” In addition, a communication campaign on saving and efficient use of energy will be carried out.

Secondly, in the next few hours it is planned to announce a tender for the import of natural gas. This will enable the purchase of 100 MW through the import of gas that would arrive in mid-December. This energy, although more expensive than that produced by national gas, would cost between 12 and 14 cents per kilowatt hour. This represents a significant improvement compared to the 23 to 57 cents per kWh that Colombian energy used to cost the country. Gonzalo Uquillas also announced that in the process of importing gas, they have given up using the Amistad Field infrastructure and will instead do it using isotanks.

The third ongoing solution is Celec’s contracting of 32 54 MW motors, which should be shipped from Korea and would arrive in the country in late December or early January.

In addition, Uquillas said that currently the thermal power plants are at 80 percent and that Termoesmeraldas 1 with 125 MW will start operating on Monday, and Termoesmeraldas 2 with 42 MW on Wednesday.

For Minister Santos, the problem arose because there was a state monopoly on production for more than 70 years, and from 2007 to 2017 they spent money on production, but with terrible results.

In the morning, energy expert José Alvear Campodónico pointed out that the power outages would be the result of negligence on the part of the authorities. And that would cost the state about 1,000 million dollars. For Alvear, the unavailability of electricity in Ecuador would exceed 6,300 MW. He assures that although the installed capacity is 8,000 MW and the demand is slightly more than 4,000 MW, not all capacities can be used as there are several unavailable. In addition, shrimp and mining companies require at least 3,000 MW. The expert also said that it would not be correct to carry out extraordinary purchases by a simple ministerial agreement, since an executive decree is needed to declare a state of emergency in the power system. He also commented on how he submitted a report to the Prosecutor’s Office because he assumes that there was an increase in the price of the fuel oil engine by an additional 50 percent.

Regarding the issue that there is no emergency executive order, Minister Santos considered that what was issued in the ministerial agreement was sufficient to carry out the purchase expeditiously, but he assured that the processes will be carried out through tenders and in a transparent manner. Additionally, Uquillas said that he requested a copy of the complaint from the Prosecutor’s Office, but that all processes were in accordance with the law. He left the possibility to respond to Alvear’s claim with other demands.