Electrical Power Rationing To Continue To Friday
The unpredictable electrical power cuts will continue today, as they have been for the last few days, as the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) struggles to get all its electrical power generating plants and stations online. The power cuts also mean cuts in water service, shutting down electrical pumps.

ICE says that come tomorrow, the rotating power cuts will be in effect in the entire country and not just the Central Valley as it has been doing since Thursday. However, little information is given as to what localities and what times power will be cut.

More surprisingly is the lack of criticism by Spanish daily press, especially the La Nación, against the Institución and its ability to manage the country's power supply.

Noting has been mentioned of the mocking last year that Nicaragua received while it was having its power problems or blasting the state monopoly on energy for their inability to provide sufficient electrical energy to meet the demand, especially for not having a back up plan when problems occurr.

So, for the coming week, we will all work and live with the possibility that power could be cut at any moment, for what ICE says is up to a maximum of three hours in each location, though power can be cut, restored and cut again, in each area.

ICE has sent a directive to the retail distributors of electrical energy like the Compañía Nacional de Fuerza y Luz (CNFL), the Junta Administradora de los Servicios Eléctricos de Cartago (Jasec) and Coopelesca (San Carlos), who are the only power companies to have defined a power cut schedule, to limit the rationing between 9:00am and 8:00pm.

Their rationing plans are completely dependent on the decision by ICE as it can tell the power companies which areas power will be cut without following their established plan.

One of the power companies that has yet to define its rationing schedule is the Empresa de Servicios Públicos de Heredia (ESPH), which provides electrical power to most of Heredia, and ICE itself, which provides power retail power to 40% of the country.

According to Salvador López, director of the Centro de Control de Energía del ICE, the rationing order came down on Friday and his department has yet to receive a list of locations and times that will be affected, saying only that ICE has established that between 4:00pm and 5:00pm, power use has to be reduced, but has not specific where.

López confirmed that the rationing plan is in effect until Friday, April 27 as ICE continues to repair a damaged turbine at its thermal plant in Moín, Limón. The problems with the turbines at the other two thermal plants at Barranca, Puntarenas and San Antonio de Belén plants were repaired last Friday.

Lopéz added that once all the repairs have been made, they will evaluate "the magnitude" of the need for electrical power and decide if rationing will continue.