It had been a while. In fact, the last time was in 2010, but the ghost is back: electricity is being rationed again in Ecuador. The culprit this time is a lack of rain. Rationing used to be the commonest of things here. Your computer would be hooked up to a UPS by default. We always counted on spending a few hours without internet. Just like you would take for granted the traffic chaos caused by blacked out traffic lights. Only a few office buildings had the luxury of an emergency generator.
In the past decade, however, things were actually moving in the right direction. Encouraged by former president Correa, eight more hydropower plants were rapidly built in Ecuador by what would later turn out to be mostly corrupt construction companies. The electricity surplus in the country would become so huge that, with some government subsidy, people would even be able to switch from gas cookers to induction hobs. Though this plan eventually flopped, rationing would nevertheless be a thing of the past henceforth.
Except that it wasn't. Two power plants have since been closed due to construction faults. And with today’s low water levels, alternative energy sources seem to be unavailable. The water level in the reservoirs is now so low that only 60-65% of the nation’s energy requirements can be met. And yes, that's when things become problematic. As a result, we are now being cut off from the power grid for between 2 and 4 hours every day.