Much of Ecuador suffers power blackout Saturday from short circuit at Paute transfer station

Millions of Ecuador were without electricity Saturday morning as a result of an electrical short circuit at a power transfer station near Paute. The blackout, which affected 11 or the country’s 24 provinces, lasted three or four hours for most customers, but in some areas, power was not restored for six or seven hours.

Workers make repairs Saturday at power transfer station near Paute

According to National Center for Energy Control (CENACE), the failure occurred at a substation that connects power lines from the three hydroelectric plants in the Paute-Mazar complex to the national power grid. “The failure occurred at 8:55 a.m. at the Molino-Paute transfer station and work began immediately to restore power to impacted areas,” CENACE said in a bulletin. “This disruption is not related to drought-related issues or other issues related to the national electrical situation.”

The blackout affected most customers in Quito, Guayaquil, Cuenca and several other major cities. CENACE said power failures occurred in Imbabura, Guayas, Loja, Azuay, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, Los Ríos, Tungurahua. El Oro and Pichincha provinces.