ELECTRICITY SHORTAGES THREATEN ECUADOR

UNCLAS QUITO 002807 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/EPSC FAITH CORNEILLE TREASURY FOR SGOOCH E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ENRG EINV EC SUBJECT: ELECTRICITY SHORTAGES THREATEN ECUADOR REF: A. Quito 1735 ¶B. Quito 2218 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: A potential electricity crisis in Ecuador looms once again on the horizon. Growing demand coupled with lack of new investment has resulted in an industry stretched thin. Low rainfall near the main hydroelectric plant in Paute, located in the lowlands of eastern Ecuador, has again caused an annual shortfall that must be made up by thermal electricity generation and imports. Industry experts believe Ecuador should be able to make up the difference with various stopgap measures during this "dry season" for Paute. However, given how tight supplies are, if any of these stopgap measures falter Ecuador could face temporary electricity rationing in the next 2-3 months, just as a change in government takes place. This situation is likely to recur in forthcoming years until Ecuador invests in its electrical sector. End Summary. ¶2. (U) For much of the year, 60-70 percent of Ecuador's electricity is produced by hydroelectric plants (Paute accounts for 60 percent of Ecuador's hydroelectric capacity) and 30-40 percent is produced by thermal plants. However, from October through February or March (the "dry season" east of the Andes),the area near Paute suffers from low water levels and the majority of electricity must be provided by thermal producers, although their installed capacity is much lower than that of hydroelectrics. In November, 60 percent of Ecuador's electricity is being generated by thermal plants, 25 percent by hydroelectric plants, and 15 percent is being imported from Colombia. An Annual Problem, But Worse this Year? -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Every year Ecuador faces the same shortage; thermal producers must ramp up production and the country must also increase imports. This year events conspired to create an even tighter situation than usual. Water levels near Paute have been unusually low and the plant has produced even less electricity than normal for this time of year. Lack of advance planning meant that thermal producers did not have enough fuel available in November to meet the increased demand (Ecuador imports fuel for this purpose; imports for December should be sufficient),and a terrorist attack on Colombian operations limited Colombian imports for several days. In addition, many thermal producers have not been performing sufficient maintenance on their machinery due to cash flow difficulties (chronic underpayment hampers the sector),and now that demand has increased are unable to operate at full capacity due to broken machines. Short Term Remedies... -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Head of Ecuador's electricity regulator Conelec, Alejandro Ribadeneira, believes the country will be able to meet increased demand in the short term with a number of measures. First, imports of fuel for thermal producers have been increased for the coming months. Second, several thermal plants that are operating under capacity will recover 80-100 megawatts (mw) over the next few weeks after the completion of maintenance on their systems, and an additional 40 mw by the end of the year. (A caveat to this, however, is that the thermal plants (other than U.S.-owned Machala Power) are old and in poor mechanical condition. There will likely be continued breakdowns.) Third, a number of barges with thermal plants are scheduled to come on line by the end of November, adding approximately 150 mw of electricity. Ribadeneira downplayed a November 7 press release by Cenace (Ecuador's electricity dispatcher) that only 15 days of electricity remained before rationing would commence. He believes the announcement is a scare tactic to try and increase awareness and encourage less consumption, but that rationing will not become necessary. ¶5. (SBU) In contrast, technical director for Duke Energy and Cenace board member Rafael Drouet believes it is quite likely blackouts will occur if anything interferes with supplies for more than a day or two, for example if Colombian imports are halted (Colombian transmission lines feeding Ecuador have been blown up twice in the last three months) or if there is a breakdown at an important Ecuadorian generator. Should this happen, Cenace has an emergency plan for rotating blackouts in different city sectors for a few hours at a time, as was done in the early 1990s. However, this would likely only last until Colombian imports were re-established or increased. ¶6. (SBU) Drouet bemoaned the failure of rationing measures to deal with the current electricity emergency. Weak attempts such as requiring bars to close an hour early and prohibiting lit billboards after midnight are not proving very effective. Stadiums are supposed to be closed for night events to conserve electricity and in some areas every other street light is supposed to be off. Drouet claims these rules are being ignored, and blames Conelec's lack of enforcement ability. ...But A Long Term Solution is More Difficult -------------- ¶7. (SBU) In the long term however, the problem remains of how Ecuador will meet growing demand. With an estimated growth in power demand of 5.8 percent per year based on the last 5 years, experts predict Ecuador would need approximately 125 mw of new power each year to keep up. The structural problems of nonpayment to distributors and generators have resulted in lack of investment in the sector (ref A). The last major investment in Ecuador's electricity sector to come on line was Machala Power in 2002 (subsidiary of U.S. firm Noble Energy). Machala's plant runs on natural gas making it a very low cost producer in comparison with most other aged thermal plants that run on subsidized diesel. Willing to invest more in the sector, Machala had planned second and third stages of investment that would provide close to 200 additional mw of electricity. However, the firm has filed for international arbitration due to underpayment and has not continued with its investment schedule. A recent electricity reform law was to improve rules governing the electricity sector and increase investment. Implementation of several key parts of the law have yet to take place and new capital investment does not appear likely from private sector sources (ref B). ¶8. (SBU) One new project, funded by the government, will come on line next year. The San Francisco project is a hydroelectric plant, drawing from an already-existing hydroelectric dam, which will provide 100 mw of electricity in January 2007, and another 100 mw upon completion of its second phase in July 2007. However, since it is on the same side of the Andes as Paute, it will be subject to the same seasonal lack of rainfall. Imports from Colombia are scheduled to increase next year when a new 250 mw capacity interconnection is completed. However, reliance on imported electricity may not be a viable long term solution, given frequent lapses in electricity supply due to terrorist attacks on Colombian lines and the high price of Peruvian electricity. A proposal exists for a huge hydroelectric plant on the west side of the Andes that would be subject to different rainy seasons than Paute. Ecuador has approved a law to set aside part of the income from the former Oxy fields to invest in the hydroelectric sector but construction and implementation of a new hydroelectric plant would be years away. JEWELL