Ecuador hit by nationwide blackout, minister says
Ecuador experienced a nationwide power outage on Wednesday, affecting approximately 18 million people, according to a senior government official. The blackout left the capital city Quito’s subway system at a standstill and caused traffic lights to cease functioning from mid-afternoon local time.
Public Works Minister Roberto Luque attributed the outage to insufficient investment in the country’s electrical infrastructure. In a statement on X, he underscored the incident as further evidence of Ecuador’s ongoing energy crisis. He criticized the years-long neglect in infrastructure investment, emphasizing the repercussions now being faced.
Earlier in April, the government had announced planned power cuts due to a drought, which severely impacted major cities with prolonged outages.
Describing Wednesday’s blackout as significant, Quito Mayor Pabel Muñoz highlighted its broad impact, including disruptions to the city’s separate metro system.
In response to the outage, disgruntled residents expressed frustration over the lack of reliable services despite high utility bills. Some areas also reported suspension of drinking water access without prior notice, prompting complaints from affected residents like Guayaquil hairdresser Diana Rosales and Guayas resident Andrew Medina, who lamented having to manage with limited resources at home.
Overall, the blackout underscored Ecuador’s challenges with maintaining essential services amid infrastructure shortcomings and environmental pressures.
Night classes were also suspended at educational institutions across the country and taken online, the ministry of education said.
Some hours after the outage occurred, Mr Luque announced that 95% of the country’s electricity had returned.
He had earlier blamed the blackout on the failure of a transmission line.
Most of the country’s energy comes from neighbouring Colombia.
