An empty street is seen during a power outage, in Guayaquil, Ecuador September 23, 2024. REUTERS/Vicente Gaibor del Pino/File
QUITO: Ecuador’s national assembly on Sunday approved a bill proposed by President Daniel Noboa that seeks to expand direct private investment in the electricity sector as the nation faces a severe energy crisis with power outages of up to 14 hours a day.
The bill sought to permit private investment in projects generating up to 100MW, from the current allowance of 10MW.
The legislation won unanimous backing from the legislature’s 120 lawmakers, although some opposition members pointed out that the measure will not immediately solve the worsening crisis.
The bill is Noboa’s second this year aimed at boosting private investment in Ecuador’s electricity sector, which is dominated by publicly owned companies.
Its provisions include authorising private companies to import natural gas for industrial and manufacturing purposes and electricity generation if they comply with technical requirements and quality standards from the sector’s control agency.
Ecuador’s worst drought in over 60 years has plunged the hydropower-dependent country into an energy crisis as diminished reservoirs leave hydroelectric dams offline, pushing the government to impose power cuts to limit the strain on electricity supplies.
The proposal will next head to the president, who is expected to sign the legislation into law. — Reuters
