A nationwide power outage hit Ecuador on Wednesday evening, leaving the country of 18mn without electricity.
Roberto Luque, the minister for Energy and Public Works, blamed the blackout on a “cascade disconnection” in a post on X. “There is no electricity at a national scale,” he said.
At a press conference Luque told reporters power should gradually be restored within three to four hours
In the country’s capital, Quito, a recently-launched subway service was suspended and traffic lights stopped working.
With heavy rainfall in recent days, authorities took three hydroelectric power plants offline due to concerns over erosion.
