Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos on Monday ordered a state of economic emergency for 180 days in an attempt to tide over an energy crisis that has forced a three-hour-a-day rationing in the supply of electricity in the country. Bolanos, who announced the measure following a meeting with the cabinet, said the crisis is due to high fuel prices. The Nicaraguan leader also announced an increase of the

electricity price by 11.83 percent for users who consume more than 150 kilowatt hour a month, but the date for the decree to come into effect has not been decided yet. Only one fourth of electricity users will be affected by the surcharge.

Bolanos will send the decree to the country's National Assembly for discussion and approval within 72 hours from its publication in the Official Gazette.

Source: Xinhua