Colombia says willing to export electricity to drought-hit Ecuador

Apr 13, 2010 - Xinhua

Colombia is ready to sell electricity to Ecuador to help ease the power shortage caused by a severe drought in the neighboring country, Minister of Mines and Energy Hernan Martinez said Monday.

Martinez told a press conference that Colombia has offered to sell an amount of electricity that could meet part of Ecuador's needs.

"They (Ecuador) have requested almost seven gigawatt-hours per day. I think that if we cannot give them all of that, we can give them at least three or four gigawatt-hours per day," he said.

He added that the offer was made possible after a similar one was turned down by Venezuela in February.

Ecuador has been hit by a severe drought since November, which has dramatically dented the generating capacity of the country's largest hydropower station on the Paute river, which supplies 70 percent of the country's power needs.