A seller waits for customers despite not having electricity due to a programed power cut by the ministry of energy, in Quito, Ecuador, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Ecuador faces electricity rationing due to a prolonged drought and high temperatures that have reduced flows to the main hydroelectric plants. Restaurant employees carry on with their work using manual kitchen tools due to power cuts ordered by the ministry of energy, in Quito, Ecuador, Tuesday, April 16, 2024.
“We urge Ecuadorians to cut their electricity consumption in this critical week,” the statement read. “And consider that each kilowatt and each drop of water that are not consumed will help us face this reality.
On Tuesday newspapers around Ecuador published schedules for power cuts in cities that included Quito, Cuenca and Guayaquil, where most homes and many businesses were left without power for three hours.Karen Verduga, the owner of a restaurant with six employees in Quito, said that she was afraid some of her frozen meats and vegetables would decompose if the current round of power cuts continues.