On Tuesday, Ecuador declared an energy emergency, and the country began to ration electricity in its main cities due to a drought caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon. This led to decreased hydroelectric reservoir levels in both Ecuador and Colombia.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa acknowledged the dire situation facing the nation's energy industry in Guayaquil.
"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.
Ecuador and Colombia rely on hydropower plants to supply their populations with energy. However, the drought has caused water levels to plummet, even in reservoirs specifically used for electricity.
Hydroelectric plants require a minimum water flow to spin their turbines. However, estimates from Colombia's energy provider XM reported that the country's reservoirs are currently only at 29.8% of their full capacity.
The government is now rationing water in places like the capital, Bogota.
Andres Camacho, Colombia's Minister of Mining and Energy, told reporters late Monday that the country was reducing its electricity exports to combat the drought.
He claimed they have had limited energy exports to Ecuador since Easter week, and as of now, they are not exporting any electricity.
Camacho's Ecuadorian counterpart, Minister Andrea Arrobo Peña, released a statement on Monday discussing the "unprecedented situations" the country and the region are experiencing.
She declared that rationing and power disruptions would help with the energy shortages.
According to her department, the length of the drought, the increase in climate temperatures, the lack of maintenance in the entire electrical system's infrastructure in previous years, and the existence of low water-flow levels have triggered all available management plants.
Furthermore, the department added that they made a civic call to all Ecuadorians to support efforts to reduce energy consumption during this critical week, considering that every drop of water and every unconsumed kilowatt counts as they face this reality together.
On Tuesday, Noboa announced he had requested Minister Peña step down. He also mentioned sabotage and corruption in the energy industry.
