The legislators questioned the Government’s performance, the high cost of one kilowatt/hour (kWh) of electrical energy purchased from Colombia, the lack of maintenance of thermoelectric plants and the rationing by the service distributors.

Santos, in turn, justified that power generation had stagnated in Ecuador due to a lack of money from the State.

The former official pointed out that when he took office at that Ministry in November 2022, there was already a shortage. Ninety percent of power plants are located in the northeastern region and when there is a shortage of rainfalls generation is affected, he said.

Santos will have 15 days to present his evidence before the Commission, while Nicole Saca, the proposing assemblywoman, will have the same time to support her request with evidence against him.

Saca, a lawmaker from the National Democratic Action (ADN) movement, filed the impeachment request against the former minister on November 25, 2023, for alleged breach of duties in the way he handled ling of the energy crisis that led the country to ration electricity service and import energy from Colombia at a very high rate, compared to the international average price.

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