Heavy rains trigger Quito blackouts; Construction of high-security prison to begin soon; Subsidy details postponed; Murders drop 31%, says Noboa

Many Quito neighborhoods were without electricity late Sunday following heavy rains that disabled three hydroelectric plants, including Coca Coda Sinclair on the Coca River. The closures forced the government to make an emergency purchase of electricity from Colombia.

According to Energy Minister Roberto Luque, the rain in the central and northern Andes Saturday night overflowed reservoirs at the Coca Codo and Agoyán dams, depositing large quantities of sediment in the in-take pools that feed the turbines. He said cleaning is underway but could not say when electric generation will resume. “The rain was torrential for several hours Saturday night, much more than was expected, and overloaded the release capacity at the dams,” he said.

The Coca Coda Sinclair hydroelectric plant, east of Quito, was one of three generation stations forced to suspend operations following heavy rains.

The Quito Electric Company posted a schedule of blackouts Sunday afternoon, but residents reported that power interruptions began earlier in the day

In addition to the Coca Coda Sinclair and Agoyán generation plants, the San Franciso plant, which shares the Agoyán reservoir, also shut down.

Subsidy details postponed
The government postponed a Friday press conference in which details of gasoline subsidy elimination were to be announced. The presidential press office said the press conference would be rescheduled but did not provide a date.

According to an unnamed source at the Energy Ministry, the delay was due in part to a disagreement between the government and taxi cooperatives about the amount of compensation taxis would receive when gasoline prices increase. “Because of the threat of protests, officials want an agreement with the transportation sector that all sides can support,” the source said.

Construction of high-security prison to begin
The construction of a high security prison in Santa Elena Province will begin in late June or early July, the director of the country’s prison system said Friday. The prison, one of two President Daniel Noboa promised during his presidential campaign, will house the country’s most violent and highest-profile prisoners, and will cost $52 million.

“All planning is complete and the necessary funding has been obtained,” prison director Luis Zaldumbide said in a TC Television interview. Built on the so-called “Bukele model” — a reference to El Salvador President Nayib Bukele — Zaldumbide said the facility would be one of the “most advanced penal facilities in the world.”

According to Zaldumbide, the prison will replace the current high-security facility in Guayaquil, known as La Roca. “It will use the latest technology to ensure the safety of both prisoners and prison personnel,” he said. “Through the installation of video and intercom systems, the prison will reduce face-to-face contact between prison guards and inmates, thus preventing incidents of extorsion and bribery. It will contain sophisticated metal and illegal substance detectors as well as communication signal jammers to prevent contact between prisoners and the outside world without authorization.”

Equally important, he added, the prison is miles away from population centers, ensuring public safety.

Zadumbide said construction will take about 300 days, with an inauguration expected in April or May 2025.

He said planning is underway for a second high-security prison in Pastaza, which he says will cost $60 million to $70 million.

Murders drop 31%, Noboa says
In comments to Ecuadorian migrants in Madrid on Saturday, President Daniel Noboa praised the country’s war against international drug traffickers. “Our efforts are working, and we have seen a 31% reduction in the number of murders since January compared to last year,” he said. He credited the use of the armed forces in support of National Police for improving security in six coastal provinces.

Noboa said criminal activity in Manta and Manabí Province has “reduced impressively” in recent days, following the relocation of the national police command to Manta. “For eight consecutive days, there have been no murders in Manta,” he said. “This compares to 23 in the previous eight days.”