The 2009 Ecuador electricity crisis was caused by a severe drought

Drought

A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...

 that depleted water levels at hydroelectric plants. Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

 experienced rolling blackout

Rolling blackout

A rolling blackout, also referred to as load shedding, is an intentionally-engineered electrical power outage where electricity delivery is stopped for non-overlapping periods of time over geographical regions. Rolling blackouts are a last-resort measure used by an electric utility company in order...

s for two to six hours per day that lasted from November 2009 until January 2010.

Background

The electricity crisis arose from Ecuador's worst drought in 40 years, which began in September 2009. Government experts attributed the drought to the El Nino phenomenon. Because of the drought, water levels at the Paute River dam—which normally supplies 40% of Ecuador's power—were extremely low. The reservoir's water level is normally 1,991 meters above sea level, but as of November 10 was only 1,968 meters above sea level. The minimum level is 1,965 meters. As of November 11, only two of the dam's 10 turbines were functioning. Normally, the dam can supply up to 20,000 megawatts (MW) per hour, but the dam's output was only 4,000-5,000 MW per hour as of November 11.

Effects

Beginning November 5, rolling blackouts took place across Ecuador for two to six hours per day. Government officials also urged citizens to conserve energy. Economic losses from the blackouts are estimated to be in the tens of millions of dollars; factory output slowed, and storage of perishables was disrupted.

On November 6, the government declared an emergency in the power sector, which was expected to "allow the Finance Ministry to seek to guarantee fuel imports for thermoelectric plants". The government also agreed to purchase an additional 5,200 MW per hour of electricity from Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

 and Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

. Government officials aimed to end power rationing before Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

.

The power crisis led to criticism of the Correa

Rafael Correa

Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado born is the President of the Republic of Ecuador and was the president pro tempore of the Union of South American Nations. An economist educated in Ecuador, Belgium and the United States, he was elected President in late 2006 and took office in January 2007...

administration's management of the power sector as water levels of the reservoirs became depleted.

In mid-January 2010, the blackouts were "suspended indefinitely", following increased water levels and the acquisition of several generators. In February, Ecuador stopped the import of electricity from Colombia and Peru.