00:00For the third consecutive year, Ecuador will not be able to cope with the energy crisis
00:05expected in the coming months. According to several experts, the lack of investment
00:09and maintenance is one of the main problems. Our colleague Gabriela Mena with more.
00:19Although the Ecuadorian government announced IT had a plan to avoid the energy crisis,
00:24experts affirm that it will not prevent power outages, which in 2024 alone represented a
00:29loss of $2 billion. This represented a drop of 1.4% of the gross domestic product for the
00:35country's economy, according to the central bank. Last week, in desperation, a request was made for
00:46all the generators to start generating, because some of them were disconnected due to increased
00:55rainfall, so with the first cove we get pneumonia. So this is the best indicator of how weak the
01:07energy system is, because it is also obvious that this system has been neglected for decades.
01:16700 megawatts are needed at a rate of 300 megas of annual growth,
01:20And different energy consultants and experts highlighted that the main problem is the lack
01:35of investment and maintenance of hydroelectric plants, which means that if one of them is in
01:40pause IT affects the national supply. In Ecuador, according to the Electricity Regulation and Control
01:45Agency, 65.89% of energy comes from hydroelectric sources.
01:56You never know what is going to happen to our country because of the political issue.
02:09Our country is blessed by God because we have everything sun, water, oil people, so the political
02:13situation is the one that has the issue faltering, what we definitely need is investment.
02:25Another option to restore the country's energy supply is the diversification of electricity
02:29generation sources such as wind and thermal power.
02:34Because they make Minister of Energy and Mines of Ecuador say that we don't even need to buy
02:38energy from Colombia when this is false, but there is more, the energy problem is linked to subsidies
02:48to mining companies. According to Hot Algo, an energy expert, without this subsidy IT would be
02:53possible to obtain the amount to implement adequate maintenance for water sources.
02:57We have this enormous deficit and this country has the luxury today of subsidizing electricity to the
03:06large mining companies in the country, this is an aberration. It is an enormous contrast. Today,
03:12the large industries are paying 25% more in electricity tariffs, that is 2.2 cents per kilowatt more than the
03:18large mining companies which are enormously profitable in mines.
03:21There is a deficit of 500 megawatts or 1,000 megawatts that has to be covered and people also
03:34have to collaborate to save energy. You even pass by public buildings and the lights are on since the
03:43morning.
03:48What is a fact for now is that Ecuador will not be able to solve the future energy crisis due to the
03:55deficiency of plans and maintenance of energy generating infrastructures which during the rough
03:59Korea government allowed Ecuador to generate a high amount of megawatts for export.
04:03Genere una alta cantidad de megavatios para exportación. Gabriela Mena, Telesur Ecuador.
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