Ecuador Power Rationing Orders 185 Large Industrial Users to Cut One Day a Week
ECUADOR · ENERGY
Key Facts
- —The country. Ecuador has about 18 million people and sits on the Pacific coast of South America. President Daniel Noboa has led the government since November 2023.
- —The money. Ecuador has used the US dollar since 2000, so a dollar earner carries no exchange rate risk here. The official basket of household goods cost USD 828.06 in August 2026.
- —The background. The order comes from the Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía, the environment and energy ministry, under minister Juan Carlos Blum. CENACE is the national grid operator. AV1 and AV2 are the two classes of customer that draw power straight from the high-voltage network.
- —The news. On 22 September 2026 the ministry ordered 185 AV1 and AV2 companies to cut consumption one day a week. It says the measure should free about 1 gigawatt hour — 1,000 megawatt hours — of energy a day.
- —What is disputed. A figure of 3,100 megawatts circulated, but the Guayaquil daily Expreso reports it as unconfirmed, alongside other figures running from 600 megawatts upward. On 23 September the minister declined to state the savings target at all.
- —What it means for you. Only industry is affected so far. No household or commercial disconnections have been announced. Suppliers, workshops and building sites may lose one working day a week, and each company picks its own day.
- —The caveat. The target, the chosen days and the end date are all unsettled. Officials point to December, when the rainy season normally begins, without committing to it.
Ecuador power rationing has widened to 185 high-voltage industrial users ordered to cut consumption one day a week, with the official saving target left unclear.
What Ecuador has actually ordered
Ecuador’s energy ministry has told 185 large industrial users to cut their electricity consumption. Each one must reduce demand on one day every week. The order was announced on 22 September 2026 and reported widely the following day. It is a further step in a rationing cycle that has run for two years, not a sudden emergency.
The companies sit in two categories the sector calls AV1 and AV2. AV stands for alta tensión, or high voltage. These are the users that draw power directly from the transmission network rather than from a neighbourhood line. Heavy industry, mining and large food plants are typical members.
The government did not assign a day of the week to each company. Firms choose how to comply. They can shut a line, switch to their own generators, or move a production shift to another day. The ministry calls the measure temporary.
The legal basis is a rule known as ARCONEL-004/25, from the electricity regulator, issued through a resolution dated 16 October 2025. Officials say the order stays in force while system conditions require it. No residential or commercial disconnections have been announced.
Why the grid is tight again
Ecuador runs largely on hydropower. When the rivers fall, generation falls with them. That is the mechanism behind every round of rationing here.
CENACE, the national grid operator, warned on 15 September 2026 that covering demand had become difficult. Its memo, dated 18 September, described a complex and high-risk scenario. The warning came a week before the industrial order.
The numbers behind it are physical. The Mazar reservoir dropped nine metres in 22 days. Flow in the Coca river fell to about 200 cubic metres per second. Mazar is the storage that feeds the country’s largest hydroelectric complex.
The government has bought time elsewhere. It authorised 200 megawatts from two Turkish power barges, the Emre Bey and the Erin Sultan. A further 85 megawatts is running from Elecaustro, a regional utility. Average national demand is around 4,500 megawatts, so those additions help without settling the problem.
The saving target nobody has confirmed
The ministry says the measure should free about one gigawatt hour a day. That is 1,000 megawatt hours, measured across 24 hours. It is a quantity of energy, not a level of power, and the difference is the whole of the confusion that followed.
A much larger number also circulated. Reports attributed 3,100 megawatts to the ministry, split as 1,000 from AV1 and 2,100 from AV2. Expreso reports that figure as unconfirmed. It also notes that figures between 600 and 3,100 megawatts were put about, which muddied the target.
On 23 September 2026 the minister, Juan Carlos Blum, declined to give a savings figure. He left a press event early and said he would speak to journalists later. Expreso’s headline said exactly that: the minister does not specify the target for the 185 companies.
The 3,100 megawatt figure should be handled with care. Average national demand is about 4,500 megawatts, and the record peak was 5,634.31 megawatts on 15 July 2026. A cut of that size would be most of the country’s electricity, removed by 185 factories. The honest position is that the target is not known.
Inflation, and what the two numbers mean
Ecuador uses the US dollar, so prices here are dollar prices. The statistics agency INEC published August figures on 17 September 2026. Annual inflation was 1.12 percent. Monthly inflation, from July to August, was 0.04 percent.
Those two rates are often confused. The annual rate compares August 2026 with August 2025. The monthly rate compares August with July. Both are small, and the annual rate was 0.31 percentage points above the year-earlier reading.
Underneath, fuels fell 1.90 percent and food fell 0.18 percent, while services rose 0.47 percent. The canasta básica, the official basket of household goods, cost USD 828.06. The government describes this as one of the lowest inflation rates in South America. That framing is pushed by its own communications, so read it as a claim rather than a finding.
For a resident, the practical picture is mixed. Household bills are not being cut, and the cost of the basket has been stable. Industrial customers now lose one day a week, which can slow suppliers, deliveries and building work. If you depend on a factory, a workshop or a cold chain, the useful question is which day they have chosen.
Sources
- El Universo
- Expreso, on the unconfirmed savings target
- Expreso, on the official order
- El Diario, on the CENACE warning
- Primicias, on August inflation
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Will my apartment lose power?
No residential or commercial disconnections have been announced. The order names 185 high-voltage industrial users only. Conditions can change, so CENACE and the energy ministry are the places to check.
How much electricity is Ecuador trying to save?
The official ministry figure is about 1 gigawatt hour, or 1,000 megawatt hours, a day. A figure of 3,100 megawatts circulated but is unconfirmed, and figures from 600 megawatts upward were also reported. The minister declined to specify a target on 23 September 2026.
Was Ecuador’s August inflation really 1.12 percent in one month?
No. The 1.12 percent figure is the annual rate, comparing August 2026 with August 2025. Monthly inflation from July to August was 0.04 percent.
When is the measure expected to end?
Officials describe it as temporary and point to December, when the rainy season normally begins. That is a horizon rather than a commitment, and no end date has been fixed.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
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