Post date: May 09, 2013 9:31:49 PM
Panama orders government offices and private businesses to slash their power consumption and closes schools to save energy.
PANAMA CITY, PANAMA (MAY 08, 2013) (REUTERS) - Panama on Tuesday (May 07) ordered government offices and private businesses to slash their power consumption and temporarily closed schools in response to a drought that has sapped the country's hydroelectric energy supply.
Opening hours for government offices will be reduced, while supermarkets, bars, cinemas, restaurants, casinos and other night spots would have to close between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. from Monday to Thursday, according to a statement from the president's office.Private businesses in the tropical Central American nation will also be forced to cut air-conditioning use by four hours a day, beginning Wednesday. It's unclear how long the rationing will last, though government officials say they would reconsider on Sunday how soon they could re-open schools.
"Suspend the use of air conditioning in public offices in the commercial sector from 11am to 3:00pm or a minimum of four hours a day with the exception of those businesses that generate their energy based on private power plants. To maintain the change of timetable in the public sector from 7:30 to 1:30pm. Suspend classes on a national scale in primary, secondary schools as well as in public and private universities," said Panama's Secretary of Energy, Vicente Prescott.
Panama, one of Latin America's fastest-growing economies, uses hydroelectric power to generate 60 percent of its electricity.
But reservoirs are now low after months without rain.
"Private companies have been turning off their signs, modifying the temperatures of their air conditioning, raising them to save energy. But now it's more of an urgent necessity and we are asking more of our 1,600 members that those who have power plants, to turn them on, saving the state energy in order to raise the levels of the reservoirs. This is very important that they understand the gravity of the situation," the President of the Panama Chamber of Commerce, Jose Luis Ford, told a news conference.
Taxi Driver, Osvaldo Garay, said businesses had been affected.
"It affects all of us, taxi drivers, and everyone. Nightclubs, bars, supermarkets have closed. They are all closing."
The Panama Canal, which transports about five percent of world trade, is unaffected by the power rationing because it produces its own energy, a spokeswoman said.
The drought has killed hundreds of cattle, damaged crops, and caused some $200 million in losses in Panama. The government on Tuesday declared a drought emergency in four provinces, representing about a third of the nation's territory.