This November 7, Ecuador accumulates 22 hours of blackout, according to the balance made by the Chamber of Commerce of Guayaquil. Its CEO, Juan Carlos Díaz-Granados, indicates that there is no doubt that the blackouts had a detrimental impact on overall sales in all sectors of the economy. It is emphasized that under normal conditions, 21 sectors of the economy would have generated 584 million dollars in those 22 hours. However, the Chamber estimates that only $145 million in total sales would have been recorded due to the power outage.

“In this way, during the 22 hours of blackout, the productive sectors would have already accumulated 439 million dollars in losses,” Díaz-Granados calculates.

Manufacturing sector: A two-week strike is equivalent to leaving Ecuador without electricity between 3 and 4 hours a day for more than a month

The Chamber of Commerce of Quito (CCQ) also publishes its balance sheet. The union’s data reflects the direct impact suffered by the business sector, with 85.4% of surveyed companies confirming impacts on their operations due to power outages.

These results detail the following:

Furthermore, within the measurement, 87% of companies believe that security has not improved since the last presidential election in 2023.

Losses could be up to $30,000 per hour in medium and large companies

The Quito Chamber of Commerce confirms that power outages affect significant productivity losses. “A medium or large company could lose between $28,000 and $30,000 per hour. For example, a vegetable freezing company faces a loss of 10 hours per week due to power outages. When the machines are shut down, there are delays of 2 to 4 hours, with additional costs for recalibration and reheating. There are also delays in updating inventory and transportation costs due to changes in staff schedules, including overtime pay,” the union explained.

Business Sector: Blackouts in the 1990s cost the country $1.8 billion and $1.5 billion in 2009, we cannot afford to take this possibility lightly

Meanwhile, in some industries, such as construction, certain machines cannot be turned off during power outages and must run on generators, limiting their normal operation. In the textile industry, damage to the electronic cards of machines is not fully quantified, and sometimes a complete loss is recorded due to voltage fluctuations. Factories in the provinces suspend production to save electricity.

In addition, the lack of advance notice of power outages affects businesses, exacerbated by the increase in raw material prices due to the situation in the Middle East, which affects staff planning and costs. According to some businessmen, government deals offered to companies have not been fulfilled, which creates uncertainty in planning and strategic decisions.