Ecuador Energy Crisis - Blackouts and Sabotage?

Рет қаралды 2,707

2 ай бұрын

Ecuador Energy Crisis - What’s Up With the Blackouts? Ecuador is experiencing rolling blackouts due to an energy crisis. The government is blaming it on a combination of incompetence, neglect, sabotage, and drought.
Link to GM Ace’s channel: / @gmacem
Link to Living Loving Abroad’s channel: / @livinglovingabroad

Пікірлер: 97

@WhereToNexxt 2 ай бұрын

Hi, Belize here, full solar for us, constant blackouts here because Belize gets it's power from Mexico and the increase in population and tourism in Mexico has prompted Mexico to throttle back the supply to Belize..... two days ago the entire country was dark for 6 hours. It's crazy but thankfully we have a full solar set up and water catchment system. Best wishes and never rely on GOVERNMENT to help or save you...

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing this. Hopefully others will read this comment and see the benefits of investing in solar. It’s not just about environmental responsibility, but also convenience and independence.

@user-nf4kq9kv5v 2 ай бұрын

Thank you for promoting this obvious helpful plan . I have to believe there are people in power who agree with you .

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

Im hopeful but not optimistic. Perhaps what is needed is a few thousand people to understand and push for this type of policy change.

@mrfish1051 2 ай бұрын

Great Idea I am living in Peru and no power outages now, but who knows. This country has diversification of power sources wind , sun , hydro , methane natural gas

@lloydkaipainen2317 2 ай бұрын

Yeah, I am here too. Just a coincidence I got out a day or 2 before the cuts began.

@BPe-ie9je 2 ай бұрын

solar !!!

@Yah-Brielle 2 ай бұрын

I just wanted to say that I live in Cuenca and we have been hit pretty hard with the black outs too. Over the past 2 weeks or so we have had about 2 power outages every single day. Each power outage is typically 3-5 hours long, sometimes one starting at 9am to 12pm and one starting again at 3pm - 7pm. Our longest power outage I think was either in the morning over over night and it was probably around 6 hours long. So I just wanted to say that Cuenca also has had lots of power outages too for anyone who wanted to know, I am surprised we are not listed as being the same as Guayaquil. Also, there is no schedule for when the blackout will happen or when it will end so it is nearly impossible right now to make scheduled plans of any kind. Yesterday I believe there was only one power outage and today so far it's almost dinner time and there has been none. Thank you for the video!

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

You’re welcome. Thanks you for providing a report on how it is where you are at. Hopefully your comment will inspire more people to explain what is happening where they are.

@commonman711 2 ай бұрын

Very interesting listen. I feel smarter having consumed this. Best wishes!

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

Thanks.

@GMAceM 2 ай бұрын

It was great to hear your take on this and appreciate the shout out! I’m hopeful with what I’ve been hearing about increased rainfall and even today’s cancellation of rationing. I can’t say that this’ll be the end of the energy crisis since we don’t know what’ll happen from here to tomorrow but good news is definitely welcome always. “Ecuador’s lack of planning for the future” was spot on with one reason why we’re in this crisis and it’s also a common factor that influences so many other things. If there’s one common phrase I’ve grown accustomed to hearing as both a joke and almost depressingly accepted joke it’s “por eso no progresamos” which is “that’s why we don’t progress”. People will joke around but I feel that that’s their own simple way of resigning themselves to not being able to do anything about something that never seems to change. But anyways, looks like the farm life is treating you well and I’m glad it is and hope it stays that way.

@vincentcruz3305 2 ай бұрын

It's an incredibly good solution. I had thought about solar power as something necessary to avoid this happening in the future, but have not thought about the government implementing a program as what you have described. But it makes total sense. 100% with your idea!!!

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

Thanks. Perhaps we'll get lucky and someone in Naboa's government will decide to implement a similar idea rather than just borrowing money to build more power plants.

@DJTheMetalheadMercenary 2 ай бұрын

Very sensible assessment brother, interesting stuff.

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

Thanks.

@deirdredear 2 ай бұрын

I like what you are saying if you could trust the government to sell a just above cost that would be perfect. Stay postive.

@LivingLovingAbroad 2 ай бұрын

(Sending gift for the unsolicited shout out) 😂 Thanks for your perspective, it's always good to hear from a wide range of folks. As annoying as the blackouts are, they don't seriously affect us because we don't work or have any responsibilities other than ourselves. I honestly feel for the folks that this has a negative affect on.

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

I think I mixed up your channel name and called you Loving Living Abroad, but I linked you in the description. You weee the first channel I watched with a good analysis and take on the blackouts, then GM Ace popped up with a great perspective on how it’s affecting him. For me, there hasn’t been much impact, yet.

@LivingLovingAbroad 2 ай бұрын

@@FallofftheMap no worries, and thanks again. I try to keep my opinions to a minimum and just report what's happening. We honestly can't complain about much even when others find literally everything to complain about.

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

@@LivingLovingAbroad I’m pretty sure I would be complaining if I were in the coast without AC.

@fastneataverage 2 ай бұрын

My understanding is that there are also some broken turbines that have to be shipped in from China and that is going to take a while to repair and replace those. Don’t know which grid that is on though.

@SuperFinGuy 2 ай бұрын

Droughts in Ecuador is nothing new, the most severe ones in recent memory was in 1982, 1998 and 2015. There is usually a 20 year gap. It has nothing to do with global warming. Check the records.

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

Yes, droughts do occur independently from global warming, but climate change is increasing the severity and frequency of droughts. Specifically, as the ocean warms the frequency and severity of el Nino years increases which results in more rain on the coast but droughts in the mountains and amazon.

@y00t00b3r 2 ай бұрын

@@FallofftheMap a popular delusion which no one will question

@jerrygarcia4390 2 ай бұрын

The climate change nonsense is the biggest hoax ever perpetuated on man. The proposed solution; let’s tax carbon and send the money to an undefined entity “to solve the problem” 😂 And millions believe the hoax!!!! 🤦

@elenabob4953 19 күн бұрын

The latest UN rapport regarding climate change say we are stable. Are you implying that they are wrong?

@FallofftheMap 19 күн бұрын

@@elenabob4953 I am explaining what I have experienced in the 11 years I’ve lived here. From my perspective, swinging wildly back and forth from El Niño to La Niña with very little normal ocean currents in between and the resulting flood drought cycles is not stable. So, yes, from my opinion that statement is incorrect.

@Celeste.Cooper 17 күн бұрын

Ecuador has a total blackout that affected the whole nation. This was two days ago

@FallofftheMap 17 күн бұрын

Yeah, but it didn’t last very long.

@cliffordwilson8070 2 ай бұрын

Sadly, i don't think this will ever happen

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

I wouldn’t say ever, but I doubt it will happen soon enough

@davidveraok 2 ай бұрын

_Hello from Lima. It is a very interesting idea. A wider solar power network spreads across Ecuador, power coming from our houses. Here the last governments have made good decision in this Energy Sector. We should have power outages, but the last years several hydroelectric plants have been done Cheves, Chaglla, Cerro El Aguila, El Platanal, etc. Peru has "vientos paracas" what are continous strong winds in the southern region, coming from the Ocean. It is due to Humboldt Current. Actually they have the highest wind towers in Latin America, as high as 182 meters. Solar energy is also growing fast. A new 500KV power-line from Peru to Ecuador will be ready for 2028 . National or International private investors_

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

Unfortunately, Ecuador is so far behind economically, that following Peru’s example and investing in a more diverse energy sector isn’t really an option, at least not now. Peru is fortunate to have planned ahead the way they did.

@Expat-happy-hour 2 ай бұрын

Interesting topic , I know that solar power is on more people's minds these days. I have read that there have been improvements on solar panel efficiency the way they are produced. Also batteries, using lithium ion type, other similar types as well. It's a great science to learn about. Thanks for bringing more awareness to this .

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

you're welcome

@gw5033 2 ай бұрын

You are right but proactive thinking does not exist here in a culture that is reactionary to events as they happen.

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

I don’t think it’s that there is a lack of proactive thinking in the culture… any culture that relies heavily on agricultural has proactive thinking engrained into it. When you plant fruit trees or teak and have to wait many years for the harvest that is proactive. It’s more that people have come to expect nothing good from their government and that attitude becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

@charhall7702 2 ай бұрын

Yes had thoughts about that too. Living in Northern NM and we have solar grid fields that supply our electric company.

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

In the U.S. there is enough investment in the grid, the electrical distribution system, that utility scale solar plants make sense. In Ecuador the grid is pushed to its limit. Here, small scale solar power generation makes sense because instead of pushing more power over an overwhelmed grid, it produces power where it’s used and reduces pressure on the grid.

@doktorzappergeck492 2 ай бұрын

Two flaws: 1. It will cost the government money in form of the taxes it doesn't collect. 2. If Ecuador is anything like any other nation, especially in latin america, the importers will bribe their puppets in the government not to implement this.

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

Your first point doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Right now solar panels are so expensive that that the market for them is very small, and if something isn’t selling then the government isn’t collecting taxes on it anyway. You’re talking about losing such a small amount in tax revenue that it’s more than made up for by the increased economic activity that is a result of not having power cuts. Your second point is valid, but because the current market for solar is so small I don’t think the importers have deep enough pockets to bribe the current government.

@lloydkaipainen2317 2 ай бұрын

I saw a chart of ocean temperatures (falling like a rock in Jan-March) they even predicted a la Nina for later this yr. That said I am in Manta, the cool sea breeze returned +/- 2nd week of March. That said Manta was getting two six hour cuts, this has been reduced to 1 or two 3 hour cuts. I also read that Colombia cut the power lines to Ecuador after the embassy thingy. Not sure if it is true (hear on FB) but the cuts started within a week of that event. 🤷‍♂️ 🤷‍♀️

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

Yes, Colombia stopped selling power to Ecuador. Like Ecuador, Colombia experienced a drought during the El Niño even during the last few months of 2023 and early 2024, so it’s not surprising that they stopped selling U.S. power, but it’s also likely that politics was involved as well. In normal years Ecuador doesn’t buy power from its neighbors. In fact, in the past, Ecuador sold power to Colombia. This drought is coming to an end, but as the ocean temperatures increase the frequency of El Niño years will increase as well. Ecuador faces big challenges in the future due to the dependence on hydroelectric and a lack of money to diversify its energy supply. In a perfect world the government would be able to invest in wind, solar, and improvements to the grid, but there is no money available to do that, so finding a solution that doesn’t require a huge government investment is necessary.

@lloydkaipainen2317 2 ай бұрын

Lets hope they can figure it out & plan. Hopefully better than S Africa. S Africa was warned in 2000/01ish that within 10yrs they would be short of power. In 08 their blackouts began with 3-4hrs a day. Last i heard they were up to 14-16 hrs a day. Businesses and mines are shutting in a death spiral. I pray Ecuador doesnt follow this example.@FallofftheMap

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

Ecuador has many natural advantages over S Africa. I don’t see it getting to that point.

@drewcwsj 2 ай бұрын

Hello from Portland. I'm an electrical engineer with an esposa ecuadoriana. Our long term plan is to move there and we have family in Quito and Manabi so we pay attention to the situation in Ecuador. Electrical grids need baseload power (24x7 steady state). Solar and wind decrease grid stability due to their intermittent nature. Ecuador needs more baseload which means Coal, Gas, Nuclear or more Hydro. I have not looked at Ecuador's daily demand but I bet like most of the world it peaks in the afternoon. If Electric cars ever become common that will shift demand to early evening.

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

Keep in mind, I'm not recommending solar for baseload or large solar projects. I'm talking about homes and businesses setting up a few solar panels to reduce pressure on the hydroelectric supply and on the distribution infrastructure. One of the factors that make solar a logical choice is the intensity of the sun even on overcast days, especially at high altitude. As I'm sure you know, it's not heat but solar radiation that generates power in solar panels, and that heat actually reduces their efficiency. The mountain towns of Ecuador are one of the best places in the world to implement PV. Ecuador is unlikely to solve the problems with underperforming baseload any time soon. The country doesn't have the money or ability to borrow the money to do so. That is why solutions that reduce peak demand are more practical.

@drewcwsj 2 ай бұрын

@@FallofftheMap Big batteries plus solar are what we are planning to bring with us when we move in our duty free container. Lithium Phospate battery prices have really come down in the last few years and their lifetimes are now approaching twenty years.

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

@drewcwsj awesome. I would suggest doing sort of a test build of the entire system before packing it up to ship. All of the electrical system components are going to cost a lot more here or be unavailable. All your cables, overcurrent protection, controller, and inverter will be expensive and probably low quality. Ecuador is a rough place to find good electrical supplies. I typically bring even wire nuts and GFCI receptacles and breakers home with me whenever I travel to the U.S. and back. The only thing I frequently find cheaper here are 15 and 20 amp QO circuit breakers, though I think it’s likely because they’re counterfeit. If I were bringing a container I’d probably bring as much electrical supplies as customs would allow.

@BPe-ie9je 2 ай бұрын

excellent. agree. if chevy plant closing down could it be repurposed ?

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

Repurposed as a place to store all the imported solar panels? Sure, though I suppose, but it would probably make more sense to use smaller warehouses in several locations throughout the country for logistical reasons. I hadn’t heard about the Chevy plant closing. In fact, I didn’t even know there was a Chevy plant. I thought all car assembly stopped in Ecuador when Lada left.

@EarthFarm9 2 ай бұрын

I’m surprised how few people suggest that we as individuals alter our lifestyles to be less gluttonous and begin consuming less electric. It’s the simplest thing we can all do. Unfortunately solar batteries are mostly mined by literal slaves in Africa

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

You’d be hard pressed to get Ecuadorians to use less power than they already do. Tightening the belt further might make sense in a place like the U.S. , but in Ecuador it would mean washing clothes by hand (thereby wasting much more water) or heating a home in the mountains with wood instead of electricity. It’s just not realistic or logical. In Ecuador, like much of the developing world, diversifying the power supply in responsible ways makes more sense.

@EarthFarm9 2 ай бұрын

@@FallofftheMap i feel bad for the slaves that are farming the materials for solar systems 😥

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

Specifically only those slaves… not slaves harvesting cacao, or working to make electronics… labor abuses are not a reasonable argument to shun a whole industry. There are slaves cleaning homes in the US as we speak. Should you shun and reject that entire industry or does it make more sense to only shun and reject specific bad actors?

@EarthFarm9 2 ай бұрын

@@FallofftheMap yes all industries that use slaves shouldn’t be funded by our purchases

@EarthFarm9 2 ай бұрын

@@FallofftheMap we should stop supporting all industries that use slaves by ceasing the transfer of our money to them via purchases

@DaveHawthorne-lk9mz 2 ай бұрын

if you want panels then buy now. The set-up of a 'cup and handle' formation in Gold, Silver and other Commodities mean only one thing: price spikes. Buy now or regret it later.

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

I doubt that’s true. The cost, watt for watt, has been coming down every year as the technology advances and the market grows. I don’t know anything about your theories about commodity prices, but the cost of solar panels will continue to decrease.

@DaveHawthorne-lk9mz 2 ай бұрын

@@FallofftheMap No. They won't. Any analyst will tell you silver is set to rise. Using Fibonacci retracement it will hit $50/oz then 80 then 130. This is baked in. The high grade, low processing cost ore has been had and the set-up is for a squeeze. There have been deficits for 2 years.

@MarVlas 2 ай бұрын

This sounds crazy what I´m about to say right now, but I made videos on KZfaq before in Dutch and started to have trouble with what I now know are freemasons. From what I´m knowing I just see Ecuador is taken over by freemasons slowly and I think there will be a lot of things happening in Ecuador now and in the future, really corruption, higher taxes on everything, higher bills on everything, higher prices for land and taxes on that, just a lot of changes, and it might seem for the better first, ´´the war on drugs kartel´´ etc. but I suspect it´s gonna end up with more rules and regulations at the end.

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

Yes, it does sound crazy.

@chiefenumclaw7960 2 ай бұрын

Makes sense to me. Most people don't know about the Freemasons because THEY don't want you to know.

@MarVlas 2 ай бұрын

@@FallofftheMap I know freemasons who import cocain and white wash the money through the sell of superfoods. They are protected by government. I know because people trust you when others are controlled.

@MarVlas 2 ай бұрын

@@chiefenumclaw7960 Exactely! And I got in trouble when I told one of them that I would expose the ID2020 plans in the beginning of 2019. It went up to the point I had to tell people I would never kill myself. Just saying.

@MarVlas 2 ай бұрын

@@chiefenumclaw7960 Wow I just wrote a whole answer, it's just gone and got probably malladvertisment from the guy who hacked my laptop, ok I'm done for today.

@goldfish2289 2 ай бұрын

Once the ENSO-neutral system starts up in June everything should go back to the old normal as far as rain accumulation goes.

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

Yeah, in my area we’re already seeing a return to more normal rain patterns.

@reuvenrosenbloom6666 2 ай бұрын

What are the 2 channels u watch on u tube how about opening a solar panel business...great idea and I love growing your own food if I can get a small farm

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

GM Ace and Loving Living Abroad were the two channels I watched that had good points about the power crisis. As for opening my own solar panel business here... it's a hard place to run a business. I would install solar panels, but I don't have the means or connections to get into importing and reselling them.

@BPe-ie9je 2 ай бұрын

why arent we using,,,building,,,,manufacturing SOLAR?

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

Why isn’t Ecuador manufacturing anything… well almost anything? It has to do with the unintended consequences of high import taxes. Those that have the means to start a manufacturing plant choose locations that have a lower cost and a larger market for their products. It simply costs too much to buy all the machinery and materials to manufacture in Ecuador. Typically, other high tax countries have solved this problem by creating a “free trade zone” to attract manufacturers. Ecuador hasn’t done this and the result is an economy that is dependent on exporting raw materials and agricultural products.

@estelamino6356 2 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing..que t hizo muerte a Ecuador..y que haces a que te desempeñas..???

@jddurham1943 2 ай бұрын

Your thoughts are good. A few years ago, an Arabic country installed solar generation on commercial / office buildings. Through real world testing in N. America solar power generation is not enough output to keep up with demand and charge batteries. When concentrators are installed you get 4x multiple with the same panels. Also if you install a water grid system below the panels (which is very hot) you get free hot water during the daytime. Let's say that you install a solar array with concentrators at your home, would you share the production with your rural neighbors?

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

If i were to install solar on my home i would tie it to the grid so that it not only reduces my power consumption but also can feed power back into the system we all use. I would not run separate cables to the neighbors' houses because the distances are too great and it would be prohibitively expensive to buy that much cable.

@BPe-ie9je 2 ай бұрын

Quito...what time of day outage??? how long??

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

That depends on neighborhood, time, location, and duration vary. Some have been a bit of a surprise, like one from 10 to 2 in the middle of the day that was expected but then a second one in the middle of the night that was unannounced. This is one of the big complaints from the public, the lack of consistent notification and how disorganized it’s been, though as an electrician that has been in the position of having to schedule power outages for maintenance (on a much smaller scale) I know how unpredictable repairs of neglected facilities can be. It’s understandable that the power outages don’t always go to plan.

@spe-chulpee-pul6976 Ай бұрын

Is that you on the news this week on the beach? If not its your twin.

@FallofftheMap Ай бұрын

Wasn’t me. What news?

@GallosUpdate 2 ай бұрын

Hallo sir

@shashka19 2 ай бұрын

@falloffthemap How’s it going brother. I was referred to your channel on Reddit. Have you ever worked with KBR? Have you ever been in Eastern Europe? I’m local 340 hand trying to find some info, but there’s nothing anywhere

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

Hey, happy to try to help. I have worked for Fluor, PAE,Polar Field Services, and Relyant. I have not yet had the opportunity to work for KBR. I did work in Eastern Europe, working for a company called Woods Group. I don’t recommend working for them. My opinion is that their upper management and possibly even ownership is compromised by hostile foreign interests. Eastern Europe is a different animal, a different kind of challenge. In Afghanistan you worried about bad luck and a mortar hitting in the wrong place at the wrong time. In Eastern Europe it’s about human intelligence, OPSEC, and the many ways you can be compromised.

@shashka19 2 ай бұрын

@@FallofftheMap interesting. I was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, but I was in the service back then. Was always curious about getting a job as a contractor. What about the pay though, is it somewhat comparable to US pay or would it be much lower?

@Jetmab04 2 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing!! Solar power makes a lot of sense. Can somebody in Ecuador not make the equipment needed for solar power? If possible, this would also create jobs.. and import taxes gone..??

@Praisethesunson 2 ай бұрын

It took China years and billions of dollars in state subsidies to develop it's solar power production. Ecuador literally cannot do that.

@FallofftheMap 2 ай бұрын

While it's possible, it's unlikely. There isn't much manufacturing here because those same import taxes mean buying the manufacturing equipment and raw materials is also expensive. Those import taxes mean other countries often reciprocate with high taxes on Ecuadorian products. That means if someone invested in a factory to build solar panels here, they probably wouldn't be able to compete outside of and because the Ecuadorian market is small, nobody wants to invest in manufacturing here. The cost is too high and reward is too small.

@Jetmab04 2 ай бұрын

@@FallofftheMap I hear you but, it's sad it is like this... Greed taking over again.... 💤

@josephgarceau6753 2 ай бұрын

They have companies here that install solar panels. There isn't much of a demand for residential solar, and the government doesn't have any money to invest in solar. For residential, for example , people in the country might pay $10/ per month for electricity. So they don't have a huge incentive to install a $6,000 solar system. In the city, the bill is around $35-$60 per month. People and businesses would need a big subsidy to invest in it.

@QuinnPrice 2 ай бұрын

They overinvested in hydro. You've got to have diverse generation sources if you want to meet reliability needs. I worked with Puerto Rico's PREPA and see similarities. They tended to give the good gigs to friends, family rather than the most competent people. For starters. The solution? I'm on your page. I would encourage neighborhoods to invest in solar farms. Micro generation will get them out of the mess that is the organization that runs the grid.