Power outage leaves millions of Ecuadorians in the dark after transmission line fails

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — A failure in an energy transmission line has produced an blackout throughout Ecuador, the government reported, days after announcing that there would be new power outages in the country due to production problems. Ecuador’s Minister of Energy Roberto Luque explained in a message posted on X, formerly Twitter, that the failure was reported by the country’s National Electricity Operator and caused “a cascade disconnection,” leaving the nation without energy service. In some sectors of the country the outage lasted 20 minutes, but media outlets and social media users reported that the problem remained in most cities and even in some hospital areas.