National blackout in Ecuador due to transmission line failure, confirms the Government

Ecuador suffered a massive power outage on June 19, 2024. This was confirmed by the Minister of Energy, Roberto Luque. The failure was due to the departure of a power line.

Massive power outages in several cities in Ecuador, such as Quito and Quevedo, were recorded on the afternoon of June 19, 2024, users reported on social networks.

As reported by PRIMICIAS, the Government confirmed that the country suffered a national blackout caused by a failure in the transmission line, which caused a cascade disconnection.

PRIMICIAS learned that the failure in the Taday Zhoray electrical connection line, which is part of the 230,000 volt ring that connects the entire national territory.

Hence, the shutdown of this line would have produced a cascading effect that ended in massive power outages, known as ‘blackout’, which had not been seen in at least the last eight years in Ecuador.

Apparently, the recent shutdown of the Coca Codo Sinclair and Agoyán hydroelectric plants, over the weekend, could have generated instability in the transmission lines.

Cities without light

In Quito, blackouts were reported in northern sectors such as Iñaquito , Mariana de Jesús, Miraflores, Calderón, El Inca. Also in southern sectors, including Guamaní, Quitumbe , El Beaterio. And in the Valleys of Tumbaco and Los Chillos.

In some sectors of Quito the electricity returned around 4:00 p.m.

In addition, there were electricity supply problems in the north of Guayaquil, such as Urdesa and Atarazana, and in the south.

In Guayaquil and Quito, the blackout has caused vehicle chaos.

The Metropolitan Transit Agency (AMT), of Quito, indicated that the lack of electricity affected 1,027 intersections in Quito, which is why it has arranged for 580 agents to work on traffic management.

In fact, in the capital, the Metro system stopped working as a result of the electrical disconnection.

“The fact must be very significant for even the energy in the Quito Metro that uses an isolated system to have been affected,” wrote the mayor of Quito, Pabel Muñoz, in X. In addition, he indicated that municipal services that use electric light are “suspended.”

Outages were also reported in cities in the Sierra, such as Ibarra and Loja, and on the Coast, such as Machala and Salinas.

In response to complaints on social networks, electric companies, such as Quito, respond to users who are working to restore service as soon as possible.

For example, to a user from the parish of Cumbayá, in the Tumbaco Valley, the company responded this: “We apologize for the inconvenience caused, repair order 877555 has been generated for the site, staff is in the know to attend to it. as soon as possible. Greetings.”

The National Energy Operator, Cenace , already warned in its most recent report that there were risks of scheduled power outages between the remainder of 2024 and February 2025.

Precisely, Cenace has reported that it will make a statement in the next few hours.