Ecuador declares energy emergency as El Nino-fuelled drought hits region

Heatwave: Suu Kyi moved to house arrest

Myanmar’s jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest as a health measure due to a heatwave, the military government said. On Wednesday it also granted amnesty for over 3,000 prisoners to mark this week’s New Year holiday.

Suu Kyi, 78, and Win Myint, the former president, were among the elderly and infirm prisoners moved out.

Ecuador has been plunged into an energy emergency as a severe regional drought exacerbated by the El Nino weather phenomenon has forced Colombia to halt the export of electricity to its neighbour, Al Jazeera reported.

Addressing the situation in Guayaquil, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa acknowledged the gravity of the country’s energy predicament. “Today we took a strong decision – once again we had to – which is to declare an emergency in the country’s energy sector,” Noboa said.

Both Colombia and Ecuador rely heavily on hydropower plants to meet their energy needs. However, the drought has led to a sharp decline in water levels, particularly in reservoirs crucial for electricity generation.

A minimum water flow is necessary to drive the turbines powering hydroelectric plants. Yet, Colombia’s electricity operator XM has reported that reservoirs across the country are at only 29.8 percent of their capacity. Consequently, Colombia has begun rationing water in areas such as Bogota, its capital.

Colombia’s Minister of Mining and Energy, Andres Camacho, on Monday said that the country was taking steps to address the drought by scaling back electricity exports.