Browse Honduras Daily Stories

Recent blackouts stem from multiple power plants not yet connected to the grid, a former ENEE manager said, while warning that extreme heat from a climate pattern called Super Niño and potential water shortages next year could worsen the energy crisis unless idle thermal and renewable units are brought online.

New blackouts struck multiple cities including Tegucigalpa on September 11 as the National Dispatch Center (CND) activated emergency measures to manage fuel shortages and forced outages, prompting experts to warn the crisis could worsen.

Small-business owners in the Sula Valley report daily losses of approximately L10 million (about $400,000) from six- to eight-hour power outages in September, with three blackouts so far accumulating roughly L30 million in damages.

ENEE's manager Guillermo Peña Panting says stabilizing power supply is the immediate priority as the utility faces infrastructure weakness that could extend through 2026 and into next summer, while the recently approved electricity sector reform begins implementation.

Honduras's electric-sector overhaul, which restructures ENEE and addresses transmission infrastructure and technical losses, will take at least two years to meaningfully reduce blackouts while the government executes infrastructure investments and tackles the utility's 120-billion-lempira debt.

Gremipe, the micro and small business association, warns that about 30,000 microenterprises have shut down nationwide so far this year, costing roughly 80,000 jobs, with power outages and rising production costs blamed for the closures.

Frequent blackouts across Honduras are causing daily losses to small and medium-sized businesses, with some municipalities reporting up to 14 outages daily and Congress stalled on energy reforms.

The private-sector business council estimates that power outages—averaging 21,200 hours of unmet demand annually—cost Honduras about L1.2 billion (roughly $48 million) per year in lost productivity, equipment damage, and generator expenses, while the government pushes stalled reforms to strengthen the state electricity utility.

Frequent blackouts are crippling Honduras's micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, with the sector reporting estimated daily losses of 15 million lempiras (about $600,000) as outages lasting up to six hours halt production and sales.

Unannounced electricity cuts in San Pedro Sula are causing production delays and losses for small workshops and artisans, with some considering closure due to lost income and the prohibitive cost of private generators.

Honduras's power regulator announced it has contracted two new fuel suppliers to help reduce nationwide electricity blackouts, a longstanding problem affecting the country's grid reliability.