Ecuador has experienced power outages across the country, leaving more than 18 million residents without light, The Guardian reports.
Public Works Minister Roberto Luque said in a post on website X that 95 per cent of the power supply had been restored by the end of the day on Wednesday. He said, ticking off recent problems caused by insufficient power generation that has led to unscheduled service cuts:
What happened today is just more proof of the energy crisis we’re dealing with.
Luque, who is also acting energy minister, emphasised that Wednesday’s outage was caused by a lack of avoidable transmission investment. Earlier in the day, Luque put the blame on a power line failure that caused a “cascading blackout.”
In April, President Daniel Noboa declared an energy emergency and announced planned blackouts in Ecuador.
Emilia Cevallos, a waitress at a restaurant north of the capital Quito, said the blackout was unexpected. She also added:
We thought it was only in this sector, but when we left we realised that while some stores had connected generators, the majority did not have electricity. The traffic lights were not working either.
Many motorists faced dangerous driving conditions on Wednesday due to traffic light outages. Quito metro services were also interrupted for several hours.
As the South American country struggles with a drought affecting hydroelectric power generation, heavy rains over the weekend forced authorities to shut down three hydroelectric plants.
