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🇪🇨 Ecuador /Energy & Infrastructure

CELEC continues work on transmission line that caused power outages in five Ecuadorian cities

From El Comercio · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • CELEC is continuing work on a transmission line that caused power outages in five Ecuadorian cities on August 21, 2026.
  • The work on the El Inga – Tisaleo 500 kV line in Machachi is ongoing but does not affect the continuity of electricity service.
  • The outages affected Guayaquil, Durán, Machala, Jipijapa, and Santo Domingo due to a fallen conductor on the transmission line.

Ecuador's state-owned electricity corporation, CELEC, is actively working on the El Inga – Tisaleo 500 kV transmission line following power outages that affected five cities.

The work is being carried out on the El Inga – Tisaleo 500 kV transmission line, in the section between structures 66 and 68, in the Pedregal sector, in Machachi.

— Corporación Eléctrica del Ecuador Celec EPDescribing the location and scope of the repair work.

The work, taking place in Machachi on the section between structures 66 and 68, is focused on relocating fallen energy conductors. CELEC EP Transelectric's technical teams are conducting extended shifts with specialized machinery, including winches and cranes, to repair the infrastructure. The company assures that these ongoing operations will not disrupt the national electricity supply.

The institution did not specify until when the work will be, but clarified that this will not influence the supply of electrical energy in the country.

— Unspecified sourceReporting on the duration of the repairs and their impact on service.

On Friday, August 21, 2026, several areas within Guayaquil, Durán, Machala, Jipijapa, and Santo Domingo experienced temporary electricity cuts. CELEC EP attributed these outages to a failure on the El Inga-Tisaleo 500 kV transmission line, specifically citing a fallen conductor approximately 36 kilometers from the El Inga substation.

As a consequence of this incident, there was a temporary disconnection of the electrical service in sectors of Guayaquil, Durán, Machala, Jipijapa, and Santo Domingo.

— Celec EPExplaining the cause and effect of the power outages.

Antonio Jácome, the general manager of CELEC EP, visited the site to inspect the repair efforts. While the exact timeline for the completion of the work was not specified, CELEC reiterated its commitment to normalizing the operation of the critical extra-high voltage transmission line. This line is essential for transporting energy from the Coca Codo Sinclair power plant to major cities like Quito and Guayaquil.

The fall of a conductor on the transmission line in question was determined after the inspection.

— Celec EPDetailing the specific technical failure that led to the outages.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Comercio in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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