Ecuador Faces Widespread Blackout Due to Transmission Line Failure

Ecuador Faces Widespread Blackout Due to Transmission Line Failure/Reuters

Dil Bar Irshad | June 20, 2024 | 09:59 AM IST | World | Follow on Google News

Ecuador Faces Widespread Blackout Due to Transmission Line Failure

Ecuador Faces Widespread Blackout Due to Transmission Line Failure

Key Highlights:

1. Nationwide blackout attributed to a transmission line failure.
2. Energy crisis exacerbated by failing infrastructure and dependency on imported energy.
3. Previous blackouts linked to low water flows and maintenance issues.

Ecuador experienced a nationwide blackout on Wednesday afternoon, with Public Infrastructure Minister Roberto Luque attributing the outage to a “failure in the transmission line,” as reported by The New York Times. According to a statement on X, Luque detailed that the national electricity operator, CENACE, identified a transmission line failure that triggered a cascade disconnection, leading to the widespread energy disruption.

Authorities were swift to respond, with efforts to restore power commencing immediately. Some parts of the capital, Quito, saw electricity return within hours. Ecuador, home to 18 million people, has been grappling with an ongoing energy crisis, driven by deteriorating infrastructure, inadequate maintenance, and reliance on imported energy, particularly from Colombia. Previous blackouts had occurred, but none matched the scale of this incident.

At approximately 3:15 pm local time, the majority of Ecuadorians were left without power. Ecuador’s dependency on Colombia, which itself faces energy shortages, complicates the situation. The Coca Codo Sinclair Dam, a Chinese-built hydroelectric power plant worth USD 2.25 billion, was intended to alleviate energy issues but has instead become a contentious project plagued by construction errors and legal disputes.

In April, Ecuador faced similar blackouts due to historically low water flows, rising temperatures, and a neglected electrical system. The Energy Ministry had to impose daily power cuts lasting several hours, prompting President Daniel Noboa to declare an energy emergency. He ordered the shutdown of businesses and government offices for several days and called for the energy minister’s resignation.

Although the blackouts ceased in May, sporadic outages persisted, with parts of Quito experiencing power loss again on June 16. This week’s nationwide outage caused significant disruptions; traffic lights failed, public transit systems halted, and some water supply services were suspended in major cities like Quito and Guayaquil. Quito’s mayor expressed shock that the city’s subway system, which uses an isolated power source, was also affected, indicating the severity of the blackout.

(Refrences from NEW YORK TIMES REPORT)

Dil Bar Irshad

Dil Bar Irshad is a seasoned journalist, hails from Jammu Kashmir's Doda, covers political, social, business stories, index stories.