Power outages continue: New electrical fault affects over 75,000 customers as ASEP evaluates distributors

Panama is grappling with recurring power outages, with over 75,000 ENSA and Naturgy customers affected by a new electrical fault on Wednesday. The disruptions, linked to the Regional Electrical System, have become a frequent occurrence in recent days, frustrating users who complain about the impact on their daily lives and electrical equipment. The National Public Services Authority (ASEP) reported the incident occurred around 12:34 p.m. when the interconnection between Mexico and Guatemala experienced an opening. In ENSA's service area, 24,746 users in Chilibre, Don Bosco, Juan Díaz, and Costa del Este were affected for about three minutes. Naturgy's concession area saw over 50,500 users in Panama City and Panama Oeste impacted for approximately two minutes. This latest outage adds to at least three recorded on Wednesday, with another occurring near 6:00 p.m. Naturgy stated the event originated externally, related to the Regional Electrical System, and service was restored after coordination with the National Dispatch Center. The ASEP has been pressing distributors for corrective measures and service improvements. The regulator confirmed on August 17th that it is holding follow-up meetings with Naturgy and ENSA to assess their commitment to addressing user complaints. In response to the new fault, the ASEP announced it will investigate the causes and implement actions to reduce future interruptions and ensure the quality and continuity of the electrical supply, reiterating its commitment to supervising distributors in defense of user rights.

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The event this Wednesday had an external origin related to the Regional Electrical System, and supply was normalized after coordination with the National Dispatch Center.