National Emergency Declared!
Following the blackout last week and more rationing beginning on Wednesday, the Ministero de la Presidencia (presidency minister), Rodrigo Arias, yesterday declared a state of emergency as the country faces an energy crisis.

Arias, brother of Costa Rican president, Oscar, made the announcement last night, saying that the state monopoly on electrical energy and telecommunications, the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), needs more latitude to make investment in generating plants.

ICE's president, Pedro Pablo Quirós, announced on Wednesday that continued electric service rationing is required as the Cachí reservoir is critically low and the plant cannot produce sufficient hydro electric to meet the current demands and that the situation will continue until the rainy season, which will raise the reservoir water levels.

ICE set out a schedule of rotating rationing that is to affect the entire country between the hours of 5:00am and 11:00pm, saying that power will be out for not more than 3 hours any one location.

However, yesterday's rotation did not follow any schedules and many areas, like the Rohrmoser/Pavas/Sabana area where the ICR offices are located, power went out at 2:00pm and was not restored until 8:00pm. Other areas suffered similar blackouts, forcing hospitals, like the Hospital Naciónal de Niños (Children's hospital) to turn on its five portable generators that consume some 500 litres of diesel fuel each per hour.

Many businesses had to shut down or operate without any power, losing sales. Traffic lights at major intersections became a nightmare are the Policía de Tránsito did its best to attend to as many intersections without power as possible.

Though the announcement on the state of emergency was made yesterday by Minister Arias, with the Ministro del Ambiente (Environment Minister), Roberto Dobles and regulator, Fernando Herrero, at his side. The government decree is expected to be signed sometime this morning.

What the decree does is allow ICE more agility in making the required investment to avoid the power shortages the country is now facing, said minister Arias.

At first a controversy began to brew over the timing of the power failures and the decision by the regulating authority denying ICE an increase in electrical rates. Minister Arias assures that the problems with the rate increase are not related to the "current crisis" of an energy shortage.

Minister Dobles, explained that the country has been suffering from a low investment in electrical energy. Dobles said that according to their information, the energy levels the current government found when coming in, were low and reducing. However, the technicians at ICE assured that they were sufficient, but did not count on four plants failing.

The problems of last week were attributed to power plant failures at Moín (Limón), Barranca (Puntarenas) and San Antonio de Belén, in the Central Valley, The Cachí reservoir problem became critical this week.

The problem is that the country is facing a shortage of some 200 megawatts of electrical energy to meet the demand.

The state of emergency decree will allow ICE to fast track the purchase of between 3 and 5 thermal plants for a cost of us$150 million dollars. The plants, allowing time for the purchase, importation and installation, would not be ready for at least eight to twelve months.

In the meantime, ICE has plans to for next month to put in operation the hydro electric plant at Cariblanco, which will generate 83 megawatts of power and with the start of the rainy season around the corner, the current hydro electrical plants will be back to full production as reservoir levels begin to rise.

The major problem facing ICE is one of "tramitología" - best described as the paperwork and beuaracracy. The objective of the ICE executive is to avoid the messy and cumbersome red tape.

During the announcement at Casa Presidencial, regulator Herrero, added that the Aresep will also analyze the subject of a rate increase. Minister Arias added that in the coming days, ICE will submit all the documentation the Aresep is asking for, along with the corresponding studies related a rate increase.

Herrero assured that his position (the reasons for denying the rate increase earlier this week) will not change following the meeting with Minister Arias.