ECUADOR · ENERGY
Key Facts
- The country Ecuador, on South America’s Pacific coast, uses the US dollar and leans heavily on hydroelectric dams for its electricity.
- What happened Ecuador blackouts hit homes in Quito, Guayaquil and other cities overnight from Tuesday 13 to Wednesday 14 October.
- The broken promise On Monday 5 October, President Daniel Noboa said no family would face power cuts.
- The weak point The Amaluza reservoir, which feeds the Paute hydroelectric complex in the southern Andes, fell below its minimum level on Wednesday.
- Factories A seven-day cut-off for industry was scrapped on Wednesday night, but medium-voltage firms stay off the grid through Friday 16 October.
- Next step The government plans maintenance on the transmission and distribution networks from Saturday 17 October, with no list of affected areas yet.
- Power Index Ecuador ranks 8th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 38.2 points (October 2026 edition).
Ecuador blackouts hit homes in Quito and Guayaquil, the country’s two largest cities, overnight from Tuesday 13 to Wednesday 14 October. The cuts came little more than a week after President Daniel Noboa promised that no family would lose power during the dry spell.
For American travellers, investors and companies with plants in Ecuador, the outages show a grid under strain before the worst of El Niño arrives. Late on Wednesday, the government withdrew an order it called a mistake that would have kept thousands of firms off the grid for a week.
What Happened on Tuesday Night
In Quito, residents of La Coruña, González Suárez, El Bosque and El Inca reported outages on Wednesday morning, according to Primicias. The Quito-based news site, citing the broadcaster Teleamazonas, said generators ran in northern residential areas of the capital until dawn.
In Guayaquil, the country’s main port, one resident in the northwest said the power had been out since 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Primicias reported. In some districts the cut lasted until after 2 a.m. on Wednesday, and parts of the city centre woke up without electricity.
The Guayaquil daily Expreso listed Babahoyo, Durán, Daule, Samborondón, Latacunga, Pujilí, Ambato and Loja among the other places hit on 13 and 14 October. Primicias also reported cuts in the Andean city of Ambato and in towns of Loja and Pastaza provinces.
CNEL, the state power distributor that serves Guayaquil and much of the coast, said its crews were working to restore service as soon as possible. It apologised for the inconvenience but gave no cause for the Ecuador blackouts, Expreso reported.
The Promise and the Dry Reservoirs
Noboa, a businessman who has been president since November 2023 and leads the National Democratic Action (ADN) movement, had promised the opposite. On Monday 5 October he told a radio interviewer that “no family is going to have power cuts,” Expreso reported.
The same day, he told the broadcaster Centro Digital: “No matter how much the haters dream, there will be no cuts,” Primicias reported. The Rio Times covered the pledge at the time, when factories were already taking turns to switch off.
The Ecuador blackouts come as a dry spell in the Andes strains a country that gets a large share of its power from dams. The weak point now lies in the south, where the Amaluza reservoir feeds the Paute hydroelectric complex in Azuay province.
Both Primicias and Expreso reported on Wednesday that Amaluza had fallen below its minimum operating level. The Mazar reservoir upstream, which feeds Amaluza, stood only about 10 metres above its critical level.
A Factory Order Reversed Overnight
Industry has carried most of the burden so far, as The Rio Times reported during the cuts over the 9 October holiday. Large power users must already leave the public grid for set periods, which rose to 72 hours a week on Monday 12 October.
On Wednesday, power distributors including Quito’s utility told medium- and high-voltage customers to cut their grid demand to zero for seven days. The order ran from the start of Wednesday 14 October to the end of Tuesday 20 October, forcing firms onto their own generators, Expreso reported.
That evening, José Julio Neira, the government’s secretary general for public administration and the cabinet, said the terms of the order were “erroneous.” He said the official behind it had been fired at once because “we are not going to tolerate this kind of error,” Expreso reported.
Under the corrected rules, high-voltage users in the so-called AV1 group could return to normal grid supply from the start of Thursday 15 October. Medium-voltage firms must stay off the public grid until the end of Friday 16 October, three days instead of seven, El Universo and Expreso reported.
Primicias said the original memo came from the distribution office of the Ministry of Environment and Energy and was sent out nationwide. The ministry says the industrial cuts keep the system stable and protect household supply, so the Ecuador blackouts in homes struck a nerve.
What Noboa Announced
In a radio interview from Ambato on Wednesday 14 October, Noboa announced maintenance and investment in the transmission and distribution networks from Saturday 17 October. According to the presidency’s communications office, he said Ecuador faces “a very tough climate situation,” especially on the coast.
Primicias quoted him as saying the work would secure supply “for what is coming in the worst months of El Niño,” the periodic Pacific warming. He expects its worst effects from November, but gave no duration or areas for the maintenance.
Noboa also said the government has added more than 400 megawatts of generation and cleared private firms to add over 400 more. Expreso noted that drought alone cannot explain all the Ecuador blackouts, because local network faults also cut supply.
What It Means for You
After the Ecuador blackouts, travellers to Quito, Guayaquil or Andean cities should expect short-notice evening outages and carry a power bank and a torch. Hotels with their own backup generators are the safer choice until rain refills the southern reservoirs.
Medium-voltage factories, including any US-owned plants, must stay off the public grid until the end of Friday 16 October and rely on their own generators. Ecuador uses the US dollar, so visitors face no exchange-rate risk from the power crisis.
What Is Not Known
No official cause has been given for the Ecuador blackouts of Tuesday night, and it is not clear whether they will return. The government has not published the hours or the areas affected by the maintenance that starts on Saturday.
It is also unknown whether the cuts for medium-voltage firms will be extended beyond Friday 16 October, or whether homes will face planned rationing. Whether rain returns to the southern Andes in time to refill Amaluza and Mazar before November remains open.
More: Ecuador news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What caused the Ecuador blackouts on 13 and 14 October?
Homes in Quito, Guayaquil and other cities lost power overnight, and the utilities gave no cause. The cuts came as the Amaluza reservoir, which feeds the Paute hydroelectric complex, fell below its minimum level.
Did Ecuador’s president promise there would be no blackouts?
Yes, on Monday 5 October President Daniel Noboa said no family would face power cuts. He credited hydroelectric plants, two contracted power barges and private projects for the supply.
Are Ecuador’s factories still cut off from the grid?
Medium-voltage firms must stay off the public grid until the end of Friday 16 October. On Wednesday night the government withdrew a seven-day order and let high-voltage users in the AV1 group reconnect from Thursday 15 October.
Will there be power cuts in Ecuador on Saturday 17 October?
The government plans maintenance on the transmission and distribution networks from that day. It has not said whether homes will lose power or published a schedule of affected areas.
Is it safe to travel during the Ecuador blackouts?
The outages reported so far were overnight cuts that lasted several hours in some districts. Travellers should carry a charged power bank and a torch and favour hotels with backup generators.
Sources: Presidency of Ecuador, Communications Secretariat (Noboa radio interview, Ambato), 14 October 2026; Primicias (Noboa announces grid maintenance from Saturday 17 October), 14 October 2026; Primicias (outages in Quito, Guayaquil and other cities), 14 October 2026; Primicias (seven-day industrial cut-off withdrawn), 14 October 2026; Primicias (Noboa: ‘there will be no cuts’), 5 October 2026; Expreso (why blackouts continue despite Noboa’s promise), 14 October 2026; Expreso (Empresa Eléctrica Quito orders seven-day industrial cuts), 14 October 2026; Expreso (Neira corrects industrial cuts and dismisses official), 14 October 2026; El Universo (high- and medium-voltage industries will not be cut for seven days), 15 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief