{"id":388,"date":"2014-11-12T08:33:55","date_gmt":"2014-11-12T08:33:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/sussexenergygroup\/?p=388"},"modified":"2015-06-09T10:50:21","modified_gmt":"2015-06-09T10:50:21","slug":"the-future-of-energy-and-ict-sectors-in-ecuador-perspectives-from-a-developing-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/sussexenergygroup\/2014\/11\/12\/the-future-of-energy-and-ict-sectors-in-ecuador-perspectives-from-a-developing-country\/","title":{"rendered":"The future of energy and ICT sectors in Ecuador: perspectives from a developing country"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sustainability issues have gained importance in the agenda of governments and organisations, including the developing world. This was the core idea that motivated my investigation: \u201cGovernance interdependencies in the shift towards sustainability: the case of the electricity and telecommunications sectors in Ecuador\u201d.\"Eva<\/a><\/h4>\n

I was awarded a scholarship by the Ecuadorian government to pursue a Master\u2019s degree and I recently graduated from the SPRU department at the University of Sussex. As a developing country in Latin America, we still face some important challenges related with pervasive economic and social issues. Economic growth has been traditionally dependent upon revenues coming from oil and primary products, however; price fluctuations summed with political tensions and corruption have resulted in severe crises, social discontent and inequality. Still, in recent years some stability has been achieved and policies to promote sustainability practices have been embedded in the national planning.<\/p>\n

These are focused on providing inclusive access to basic services, promoting a new model of economic growth by reducing dependence upon oil as a source of revenue and encouraging environmental friendly technologies. To accomplish this, the Ecuadorian \u201cstrategic sectors\u201d (energy, telecommunications, hydrocarbons, mining, water and environment) play a significant role. \u00a0These sectors are deemed to be exclusively under management and control of the State, in order to guarantee technological and industrial transformation of these, and be oriented towards societal needs. These initiatives seem to correspond to a new ideological trend that moves away from the neo-liberal ideas that dominated the Latin American scene in the early 90’s and give governments a central, steering role.<\/p>\n

My research is focused on two sectors: electricity and telecommunications. A set of sustainability goals to be accomplished by 2017 include increasing the participation of renewables \u00a0in electricity generation and achieving a bigger penetration of ICTs, especially aimed at neglected areas or segments of society. As these targets imply expansion and modernisation of both sectors, they should account for the existent interplays regarding infrastructure, capacity and demand. This idea is based on the research made by Raven (2006) and Konrad et al (2007) which define a typology of relationships between technological regimes which can influence the path of sustainability transitions.<\/p>\n

My research analyses the nature of the interdependencies between electricity and telecommunications in Ecuador over two periods of time: 1) between 1992 and 2006 when both sectors went through reforms towards privatisation and; 2) in the period 2007-2013 and up to present time where both are under state management. These two periods of time are key as they correspond to different scenarios influencing the management of both sectors: the first period is the result of the implementation of neo-liberal ideology in Latin America, which promoted opening the economy to foreign capital, reducing State intervention, de-regulation and privatisation of public services; and the second corresponds to a time of economic improvement and greater influence of the State.<\/p>\n

The research included data collection from electronic journals, papers and books; and grey literature: governmental and non-governmental reports and statistics, articles in newspapers and magazines, unpublished theses, PowerPoint presentations and official accords, decrees, laws, mandates, ordinances, regulations and other legal documents. Additionally, in order to achieve a better insight about past and present developments of both sectors, primary research was conducted through questionnaires aimed at Ecuadorian experts within the fields of telecommunications, electricity and public policy.<\/p>\n

As a result of this investigation, I found that historically both sectors have shared structural similarities; as both have been subject to the same regulation.\u00a0 However, both regimes have been managed separately. The electricity and telecommunications sector also have a symbiotic relationship, as telecommunications run on electricity. In the first period, electricity companies began deploying telecommunications networks over their infrastructure. However, both sectors suffered from lack of investment, inefficient management and outdated technologies.<\/p>\n

In the second period, the State took a central role in long-term planning and big investments were made in both sectors. Structural similarities have remained, and as ICT’s were deemed as powerful tools for technological and social improvement; the complementarity between the telecommunications and electricity sectors increased.\u00a0 More electricity distribution companies began to deploy telecommunications networks over their infrastructure and electricity companies obtained economic benefits by supplying telecommunications services. As telecommunications became essential for electricity management, the two sectors became mutually dependent on the technological enhancements and infrastructure expansion of the other.<\/p>\n

Although the State has a central role in achieving the 2017 goals, its ability to provide appropriate and timely funding for the consecution of the targets and possible delays and disruptions in the normal operation of both sectors (caused by upcoming sectorial Laws) proved to be severely limited.\u00a0 On the other hand, private actors in both sectors have a marginal participation in the governance of policies towards the sustainability objectives. Similarly, there is still much to do regarding the involvement of customers for the efficient application of sustainability practices. This is of special importance for the continuity and long-term planning of sustainability projects, which need to be legitimized by people.<\/p>\n

The symbiosis between the two sectors entails co-evolution of technologies and infrastructures to accomplish the sustainability goals.\u00a0 This implies a challenge for governance, in order to promote robust and reliable services within one regime in order to enable and avoid failures in the other. The upcoming projects regarding undergrounding of telecommunications and electricity overhead cables and the implementation of smart grids demonstrate the need forcoordinated efforts between the two sectors.<\/p>\n

These findings point to some important considerations for policy-making in Ecuador:<\/p>\n