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President Daniel Noboa announced cabinet changes on April 20, installing Jaime Bernabé Erazo as Minister of Health effective immediately. The Ministry of Environment and Energy will receive a new minister on April 30, with the current officeholder stepping down.
Ecuador's government takes formal possession of the country's largest hydroelectric project today, ending a decade of refused acceptance over 17,661 documented fissures. China's PowerChina takes over operation and maintenance at $46M/year for 25 years. Here's what the deal contains and what it means for the country's power supply.
Ecuador's strategic Mazar reservoir is sitting at ~2,137 m.s.n.m. — about 61% of stored energy capacity, and 23–28 meters above the same period in 2024. Energy Minister Inés Manzano declared "tenemos agua." Hydroelectric is currently delivering 72.3% of national output. Here's the supply-side picture as the heat wave continues.
The Banco Central del Ecuador raised its 2026 GDP growth projection to 2.5%, up 0.7 points from its September forecast. Inflation is expected at 1.8%, private credit to grow 10%, and the external account to post a $6.4 billion surplus. 2025 closed at 3.7% growth — so momentum is slowing.
Peak demand on the Ecuadorian electrical grid hit 5,333 MW on April 10 — roughly 20% above normal, and enough to trigger rolling blackouts across Guayaquil, Daule, and Samborondón. The Ministry of Environment and Energy suspended all scheduled grid maintenance on April 14 to free up capacity. Here's what's happening and what to expect.
Environment and Energy Minister Inés Manzano announced leadership changes at both CNEL (the national distribution utility) and CENACE (the grid operator) this week after widespread blackouts and what she called 'slow and inefficient' responses. Juan Carlos Blum — a mechanical engineer with a background in multilateral energy work — is the new CNEL general manager.
New numbers from Colombia's DIAN show Colombian exports to Ecuador fell 27% in January–February 2026 as Ecuador's security-tariff regime ramped up. Between February and March, the fall steepened to 57%. Ecuador's tariff escalates again on May 1 — from 50% to 100%. Here's the picture and what it means for consumer prices.
Ecuador's Ministry of Environment and Energy publicly labeled a circulating WhatsApp schedule of purported Guayas power cuts as "Falso." The fake document listed outages across Guayaquil, Samborondón, Machala, Daule, and Quito. The real, limited maintenance cuts are confined to two upcoming Sundays at the Dos Cerritos substation.
Ecuador's Minister of Environment and Energy, Inés Manzano, confirmed scheduled power interruptions in Guayas province on two additional Sundays, running from 5:00 AM to 8:00 AM, for maintenance work at the Dos Cerritos substation. Affected areas include Guayaquil, Samborondón, Santa Lucía, Pedro Carbo, and Daule.
President Noboa said on April 13 that he has "no great hope" that Colombian President Gustavo Petro will change course on border security or commercial reciprocity. Ecuador will wait for Colombia's next administration before attempting a long-term solution. The trade war continues.
Energy sector expert Marco Acuña warned on April 8 that Ecuador has registered an electrical generation deficit that could trigger power cuts during peak hours. The government disagrees, but Colombia's energy cutoff and Coca Codo Sinclair's chronic underperformance create real vulnerability.
After Colombia's President Petro asked Noboa to release former Vice President Jorge Glas during a meeting in the Galápagos, Ecuador's government pushed back hard — rejecting the 'political prisoners' framing and affirming that Glas is detained for corruption, not politics.
