One week after a massive blackout swept the country, Presidency Minister Rodrigo Arias declared yesterday that the nation's energy crisis has reached a state of emergency.
ICE president Pedro Quirós announced that blackouts will begin today and continue until there is enough rain to feed Costa Rica's hydroelectric plants, which are currently low on reserves due to a drier-than-normal year and a growing demand for energy.
To view a schedule released by ICE late yesterday afternoon of blackouts scheduled for today, click here. ICE representatives said the institute would also begin posting daily schedules of blackouts on its Web site, www.grupoice.com.
Some parts of the country will also experience interruptions in water service, according to Ricardo Sancho, Executive Director of the National Water and Sewer Institute (AyA). About 40% of the San José metropolitan area's water pumping systems depend on electricity provided by ICE, and will therefore be affected by the blackouts, he said.
These systems, which provide potable water to 100,000-150,000 of the city's 1.2 million inhabitants, will be shut off for periods of about six hours, coinciding with the ICE-programmed blackouts.
Sancho shied away from offering specific times and dates, explaining that the situation is still unclear due to conflicting information from ICE. AyA is very dependent on the electricity institute holding to its schedule for the blackouts, he said.
Click here for more on this story, and stay tuned to The Tico Times Daily News page for updates. |
| 
| Exchange Rates
