MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Water deficit places Ecuador under “red alert”

Some 77,000 troops were deployed to protect Ecuador's key sites during nighttime blackouts

A red alert has been declared in several parts of Ecuador hit by an unprecedented drought that resulted among other things in mass power cuts in a country already hit by spreading forest fires.

“After reviewing technical and scientific information, the [the National Emergency Operations Committee - COE] plenary resolved to declare a red alert in several provinces based on three components: water deficit, the spread of forest fires, and food sovereignty,” announced Environment Minister Inés Manzano, who also chairs the COE.

During the encounter, seasonal forecasts of water deficit, the impact of forest fires, and the hydrological condition of the National Interconnected System were reviewed, after which the COE urged local governments to guarantee the supply of drinking water.

“The Government of President Daniel Noboa faces this water crisis with determination, a sense of opportunity, and concrete solutions in order to mitigate the impacts of this regional climate threat,” the authorities also said in a statement.

Ecuador is facing the worst drought of the last 61 years, which has caused a lower availability of water, affecting river flows and the reservoirs of hydroelectric power plants. This situation has aggravated the energy crisis, leading to power cuts this week to be repeated between Sept. 23 and 26. In addition, 1,337 forest fires have been reported in 21 of the country's 24 provinces.

This week 77,000 troops were deployed during the nighttime blackouts to protect strategic points given the country's escalating violence. Ecuador's National Energy Transmission Service carried out programmed interruptions on the country's electricity grid, which caused partial and sectorized blackouts in eight hours between 10 pm Wednesday and 6 am Thursday local time. These outages were programmed by areas and ranged in duration from two to five hours. Strategic areas such as hospitals and security services were excluded.

According to Ecuador's Chamber of Industries and Production (CIP), these power cuts combined will entail losses of around US$20 million. Unlike previous blackouts, this time around they were carried out during the night, as the Government considers that this implies a lower impact. It is Ecuador's third period of blackouts in less than a year, after one in late 2023 and another in April this year.