Nicaragua was obliged to privatise its electricity sector in exchange for World Bank and IMF loans and debt relief.
But instead of the increased investment and improved services promised, poor regulation, mismanagement and a complete lack of investment in its electricity sector have seen Nicaragua plunged into a dramatic energy crisis.
Find out how ordinary people are paying the price for the World Bank’s strategy.
Julio Alburto, Ciudad Sandino barrio, Managua
Julio used to drive a delivery truck, but the work was not constant. He thought he could build a better future for his family if he put his modest savings into a corner shop.
As the only shop in their neighbourhood, it was a valuable community resource and was doing well. Then the blackouts began.
Video: Julio explains what the poor service means for his shop (Spanish with English subtitles)
Only a few months after Julio opened his shop, the energy crisis began in Nicaragua and the whole barrio was plunged into six-hour blackouts on a daily basis.
Then, in March, the transformer in the neighbouring village stopped functioning, so their barrio had to club together to buy new cables to connect to another transformer even further away.
Poor quality connections also mean Julio and his neighbours are subjected to power surges, which ruin their electrical goods.
Julio lost one of his fridges following a surge and had to pay out nearly half of his initial investment to get a new motor fitted. That is in addition to the stock he lost.
He said: ‘They told us we would have a cheaper service, which was more reliable and with more people connected to the grid. None of this has happened.
‘We are paying higher bills for much less electricity and hardly any new connections have been made.
‘At any time, I could lose everything. I'm constantly worried about it.’
Aida Torres has to collect water in the middle of the night
Aida Torres, Enrique Lorente barrio, Managua
Aida not only has to contend with blackouts and power surges – she also has very limited access to water.
Aida is a community leader in a barrio that’s located at the top of a hill. This means that running water has to be pumped, which requires electricity.
Because of the daily blackouts, the water authorities have rationed pumping to two hours a day between 3am and 5am.
This means Aida has to get up in the middle of every night to fill buckets and bowls of water for her family’s use.
Carolina del Carmen Pachecho, Enrique Lorente barrio, Managua
Carolina owns a corner shop in the same barrio as Aida. She says her health is suffering as a result of the stress of dealing with exorbitant bills from electricity firm Unión Fenosa, the Spanish multinational which is now in charge of electricity distribution.
Like Julio, Carolina has to run several refrigerators in her shop for preserving meat and storing cold drinks in a city where the temperature regularly tops 30º C.
She used to pay 500-1,000 cordobas (£13-£26) a month for her shop’s electricity. Now she is getting bills for more than ten times that amount. She cannot understand why, but is afraid to stop paying in case she gets cut off. Without electricity, she would lose her business.
Carolina del Carmen Pachecho in her shop
And the more she pays, the worse the service has become.
‘With the blackouts of five hours a day, I have lost a lot of my fresh meat,' she explains. 'I try to keep the fridge going all night so that the meat stays cold during the blackouts.’
She tried appealing to Unión Fenosa to have her bills revised - but they denied her appeal and said that in addition she should make back payments.
Who’s in charge?
While the blackouts worsen, Unión Fenosa has increased its efforts to squeeze the poor into paying their increasing bills to the company.
Gonzalo Salgado, director of Christian Aid partner, Red de Defensa de los Consumidores (National Consumer Defence Network) explains: ‘Unión Fenosa sends its subcontractors into poor neighbourhoods to monitor electricity use.
‘As the subcontractors don’t have permanent salaries or benefits, but are only paid if they meet targets, they are keen to either get people to pay bills or cut people off.
‘These subcontractors have found it is much easier to intimidate poor people into paying, or to cut off poor families, than to go after rich households where they won’t get easy access or will be chased away.
‘If they can’t legitimately meet targets through intimidating the poor, at least they can bribe them and make a little something on the side.’