The Guatemalan government warned Wednesday this country is heading for a crisis in generation, transportation and distribution of electricity in the short term and called all its organizations to adopt prevention measures.
One of the urgent projects is the Guatemalan-Mexican inter-connection, which would contribute 200 additional megawatts, but confronts serious difficulties in completion, said Guatemalan Energy and Mining Minister Romeo Rodriguez.
Also, they are trying to attract investments for renewable energy programs, like hydroelectric plants and replacement of oil with cheaper energy sources, such as coal.
Guatemala has a great number of rivers with abundant water volume and sharp falls, especially in the high western plane in the south, but only 52 percent of the national electricity is produced in this way.Most electricity is produced by oil combustion, so Guatemala has to purchase oil abroad, at continually higher cost.
The national energy system can no longer meet the increased demand, although only 42 percent of the national territory is covered by this service, with one of the lowest rates in Central America.Rodriguez said that if short and medium term programs are not implemented soon, an unprecedented crisis will be produced, with severe effects for the national economy.
No comments:
Post a Comment