13-hour power cuts hit Ecuador

Drought sparks electricity crisis.

QUITO, Ecuador (AFP) — Parts of Ecuador were facing power cuts of up to 13 hours on Thursday amid an electricity crisis sparked by a drought that has left key hydroelectric reservoirs nearly depleted.

A government decree ordering workers to stay home went largely ignored, with buses running as usual in the capital Quito, where traffic lights were out in some areas due to blackouts.

The electricity crisis comes days before a key referendum on Sunday, in which Ecuadorans will decide whether to greenlight tougher measures against organized crime in a country gripped by bloody gang wars.

Electricity provider Emelnorte detailed power cuts in northern Ecuador of up to 13 hours.

“Yesterday, they cut me off from eight to 11 (in the morning) and that is time that is needed to work. Today with eight hours (of blackouts) it is going to be worse,” said Segundo Gaucho, 45, who owns a computer rental business in Quito.

According to Ecuador’s Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, aside from some areas in the north, much of the country has received below-average rain for this time of year.

Ecuador found itself in a similar drought-induced power crisis last year in October, when former president Guillermo Lasso struck a deal with Colombia to import electricity.

Faced with its own severe dry spell, Colombia this week halted the export of electricity to Ecuador.