Power Crisis

Honduras's electricity regulator warns that Congress-approved reforms to the power sector remain unsigned and unpublished, delaying their implementation even as daily blackouts persist due to insufficient generation capacity.

President Asfura blamed widespread blackouts and power rationing on peak-hour demand and fuel shortages at generating plants, while announcing that Congress-approved energy reforms await final review before publication and that roughly 1,500 megawatts will be tendered to stabilize the grid.

Miguel Aguilar, president of the STENEE electrical workers' union, says Hondurans are exhausted by rolling blackouts driven by drought, low reservoir levels, and diesel shortages, and urges the government to pursue long-term fixes—including over 1,800 megawatts of new generation capacity rather than the 600 megawatts announced.

Three blackouts lasting 6 to 8 hours in September have cost small and medium-sized businesses in the Valle de Sula an estimated 30 million lempiras (about $1.2 million), with most lacking backup generators to sustain operations, a sector representative said.