Ecuador: Theft and Leakage of Electricity, Companies Cannot Eliminate

According to ElUniverso.com, two and a half years ago ten companies merged into a single management of the National Electricity Corporation (CNEL). However, the companies are failing to reduce power distribution losses to a single digit. Furthermore, the union objective was to eliminate any power loss, said the Ministry of electricity and National Electricity Council. The companies have recorded 22% technical and non-technical loss (robbery), which is five points less than in 2009. Most problems occur in Manabi and Los Rios. Companies are changing their installation and distribution techniques to decrease power loss. In rural areas, cables are now placed underground so that people are not able to view the connection and unable to rob electricity. The Electric Company of Quito (EEQ) says that these implementations are in the beginning stages since important crash test on the electricity grid are necessary to judge improvement operations.Read Article