Bogota (AFP) – Punished by a drought that has several hydroelectric plants near critical levels, Colombia announced on Monday, April 15, that it has stopped exporting energy to Ecuador, where there will be “rationing.”
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“Since Easter we have limited the export of energy to Ecuador. At this moment we are not exporting energy,” Colombia's Minister of Mines and Energy, Andrés Camacho, told the media.
For its part, the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Ecuador anticipated in a statement that there will be “temporary rationing” due to “unprecedented situations at the national and regional level.”
In the midst of a prolonged drought associated with the El Niño phenomenon, Colombia, which depends largely on hydroelectric generation, has adopted “all measures” to avoid suspending energy service.
“We have all the thermal (plants) at their maximum,” Camacho explained, adding that the country also turns to “renewable” sources and “hydraulic plants” to satisfy the demand of its 50 million inhabitants.
The country's reservoirs are currently at 29.8% of their capacity, according to the system operator, XM. Close to the “critical” level of 27%.
In March, XM recorded the export of 129 gigawatts/hour to Ecuador, which increased its energy imports at the end of 2023, also due to the droughts associated with El Niño.
In some areas of Quito there were electricity outages on Monday, April 15.
According to the local energy company, the interruption is due to “emergent maintenance.” The government has not yet announced the times at which the service will be interrupted.
Rationing
“What we have experienced in the last week has not only been the El Niño phenomenon but a heat wave,” Minister Camacho explained.
According to the official, weather forecasts indicate that the rains will arrive “very soon”, although “rationing (of energy) is within the possibilities.”
The Government also points to global warming as one of the causes of the crisis.
The lack of rain and high temperatures have led Bogotá to unprecedented water rationing for the capital of 10 million inhabitants.
And the measure, which involves scheduled cuts in the aqueduct service to raise the level of the reservoirs that supply the city, has not brought the expected savings.
This Monday, Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán announced fines for excessive water use:
We are going to start imposing fines for irresponsible actions that lead to water waste
The fines will range from 700,000 to 1.2 million Colombian pesos (180 to 310 dollars).
Washing cars, motorcycles or bicycles on public roads and pouring waste such as soap and oil into bodies of water will be some of the actions punished. The mayor assured that the police will carry out tours to detect violators in flagrante delicto.
Since the emergency began, the neighborhoods of Bogotá do not have water for 24 hours every 10 days and according to their corresponding shift.
Before starting rationing, the mayor's office proposed reducing water consumption by 11 cubic meters per second, but Galán stated this Monday that the savings have been 1.8 cubic meters, so the restrictions could be more important in the following days.
Without establishing the amount of the punishments, the mayor added that households that exceed a certain monthly water consumption will also have to pay more money.
“The basic consumption (…) is 11 cubic meters per month, for this reason those who consume more than 22 cubic meters per month will have an additional charge in the rate,” he said.
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