Quito: Ecuador There was a nationwide power outage on Wednesday. At around 3:15 p.m., the majority of Ecuadorians found themselves without electricity. Towards evening, the sounds of car horns and the shouts of drivers filled the streets. Quito and in the port city of Guayaquil, traffic lights stopped working and vehicles filled the city streets. Public transportation systems and some water supply companies suspended service in both major cities.Quito’s mayor expressed surprise that X’s power outage affected the city’s metro system, which uses an “isolated” power source.
Roberto Luque, the country’s public works minister, said he received a report from national electricity operator CENACE in X about “a fault in the transmission line that caused a gradual outage, resulting in the absence of energy service nationwide.” Some parts of the capital Quito began regaining power within a few hours.
The South American country with a population of 18 million is struggling with a problem energy crisis For several years. Failing infrastructure, lack of maintenance and dependence on imported energy have contributed to constant power outages. Most of the country’s energy comes from neighboring Colombia, which struggles to produce enough energy for its own domestic consumption. A $2.25 billion Chinese-made hydroelectric power plant was supposed to help. The project turned into a complete headache. There were many construction errors that led to disputes between the authorities and the Chinese company.