The government of Ecuador decreed this Wednesday the suspension of the working day for the next two days (Thursday and Friday), in the midst of the energy crisis that has forced blackouts to ration electricity since last weekend and on the eve of a referendum called by the Executive on reforms in security, justice and employment.
The president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, signed the decree in which he points out that The suspended days in the public sector will be recovered with the work of an additional hour during the following days, while in the private sector they will be recovered by mutual agreement between employers and workers.
The presidency warned in a statement that the decision not only responds “to environmental circumstances” but to “unheard-of acts of corruption and negligence.”
Noboa declared an emergency in the electricity sector on Tuesday and asked for the resignation of the Energy Minister. On Monday night, the ministry announced “temporary rationing” due to the drought and asked the population to “reduce energy consumption in this critical week.”
That same day, Colombia reported that it stopped exporting energy to Ecuador as a measure to deal with the serious drought associated with the El Niño phenomenon that has the country's reservoirs below 30% of their capacity.
“I have declared an emergency in the electricity sector, I have asked for the resignation of the Minister of Energy (Andrea Arrobo),” Noboa wrote on his X social network account.
Minister Arrobo had assured last Friday that there would be no short-term blackouts and she is accused of allegedly hiding information to have avoided this crisis, along with other senior officials.
The decree signed by Noboa also establishes that the government will cover 50 percent of the electricity bill of Ecuadorian homes during the month of April and ensures that the Executive sectors will be 100 percent focused on solving the country's energy crisis. .
At the same time, the decree ensures that during the suspension of the working day, maintenance will be carried out in the power plants, so there will be energy rationing in time slots that will be announced later this Wednesday.
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