Ecuador Power Rationing Reaches Two Guayaquil Ports as Exporters Warn of Delays
Ecuador power rationing now covers two Guayaquil container ports. Exporters warn of cold-chain risk and missed ships; officials say both have generators. The post Ecuador Power Rationing Reaches Two Guayaquil Ports as Exporters Warn of Delays appeared first on The Rio Times .
Ecuador's power rationing now extends to two of the country's main container ports, with exporters warning that terminal outages could disrupt the transportation of perishable cargo, according to government sources cited by the news site Primicias on October 1st. The government maintains that both ports possess their own generators, arguing that foreign trade should not be impeded during the country's electricity rationing during its dry season.
The two ports in question are the Posorja deep-water port, managed by DP World Posorja, and Guayaquil’s Libertador Simón Bolívar port, operated under concession by Contecon Guayaquil. Both ports are classified under high voltage 1 (AV1), which includes 185 medium and large companies, ranging from cement plants to factories. The government initially requested these companies to voluntarily switch off power one day a week starting September 22nd.
However, on September 29th and 30th, all 185 companies were disconnected from the national grid for 48 hours, as reported by Primicias and the Colombian daily La República. Xavier Rosero, president of the Ecuadorian Federation of Exporters (Fedexpor), stated that factories can still protect perishable goods using backup generators and strategic power cuts.
However, he emphasized that ports are a different matter, as a disconnection can break the cold chain. Rosero urged that the ports be declared strategic zones and kept on the grid. Fedexpor also requested this measure. The exporters association contends that only 47 out of the 185 AV1 companies can fully meet their own power needs.
The crisis stems from low river flows, with the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant, Ecuador's largest, experiencing declining water levels since mid-September, as reported by Primicias. The government is pushing for the development of new power plants of up to 100 megawatts, but these projects will take months to become operational, leaving power rationing as the immediate solution.
It remains unclear how long the two ports have been running on generators or if any vessel has missed a loading window. Neither operator has published a statement by Thursday afternoon, and the government has not announced whether it will grant Fedexpor's request for an exemption. The government's inclusion of the ports in the rationing list relies on unnamed sources and has not been independently verified.
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