Economic losses that exceed $100 thousand dollars have been reported by poultry producers in the province of Panamá Oeste, due to the electrical fluctuations that are registered with great frequency in this area of the country.
Carlos Espinoza, one of the affected producers, assured Radio Panama that the effects suffered by poultry farmers are considerable due to the lack of energy supply that causes “great damage to electronic equipment.”
He highlighted that only last year they lost 50,210 birds that were ready for sale, which generated a loss of more than $100 thousand dollars of investment.
Espinoza stated that he is aware that these constant blackouts not only affect the poultry sector but all the residents of the western sector, and denounced that this is an old situation and occurs repeatedly because the energy distribution company Naturgy, It is not responsible for pruning, nor preventive maintenance of the energy network.
“It is a situation that is already dragging on and is rooted more than anything in the lack of maintenance of the electric power network, the lack of pruning. It would be putting a little more effort on the part of the distribution company Naturgy so that it maintains the lines in good condition”, he said, revealing that they are carrying out the necessary procedures before the Public Services Authority so that they are answered, however, the process is cumbersome.
“That rise and fall of stairs, and the legal procedures are expensive… We wait for the one from the distribution company Naturgy, so that it covers the expenses that we incur, that it becomes responsible for the loss, what that was going to generate is not no matter what, it’s already been lost, but that they at least recognize the $100,000 or so that I had to pay the company I work for”, he specified, insisting that until Naturgy does the corresponding pruning and preventive maintenance, this situation will continue.
