QUITO, Ecuador (NEWSnet/AP) — A failure in an energy transmission line resulted in a massive power outage across Ecuador on Wednesday, the government said.

Ecuadorian Energy Minister Roberto Luque said in a post on

He added that efforts are being made to resolve the problem and repair faulty power lines as soon as possible. A few days earlier it was announced that power outages could occur in the country due to production problems; but the magnitude was unexpected.

The outage lasted 20 minutes in some sectors of the country, but media outlets and social media users reported that the problem persisted in most cities.

Emilia Cevallos, a waitress at a restaurant north of the capital Quito, said the outage was surprising.

“We thought it was just in this sector, but when we left we realized that although some shops had generators connected, the majority had no electricity,” she said. “The traffic lights weren’t working either.”

The municipality of Quito said on X that traffic officers had been mobilized to coordinate traffic flow. Quito Metro, the company that operates the city’s subway system, said service had been suspended as a result of the electrical outage.

Since last year, Ecuador has been facing an electricity generation crisis that has led to rationing across the country. In April, President Daniel Noboa’s government began rationing electricity in the country’s main cities as a drought caused by the El Niño weather pattern had depleted reservoirs and hampered the production of hydroelectric plants, which provide about 75% of the power of the land was limited.

Copyright 2024 NEWSnet and The Associated Press. All rights reserved.