About 150 large electricity users will disconnect weekly as Ecuador tries to stretch hydroelectric reserves through December.

A different kind of power rationing

Ecuador is preparing to impose electricity restrictions on some of the country’s largest industrial consumers beginning this week, part of a government strategy aimed at preserving the Mazar reservoir and preventing a return of widespread residential blackouts.

Between 145 and 150 companies classified as high-voltage consumers are expected to disconnect from the national electricity grid for one day each week. The program is scheduled to begin as early as Monday or Tuesday.

The government estimates that the restrictions could reduce national electricity demand by between 600 and 1,000 megawatts, depending on how many companies participate and how much electricity they can generate themselves.

For households, the immediate message from the government is more reassuring: officials say residential power cuts are not currently planned.

But that assurance comes with an important qualification. Ecuador’s ability to keep electricity flowing normally will depend heavily on rainfall, the behavior of El Niño and the amount of water available for hydroelectric generation during the coming months.

Trying to preserve Mazar

At the center of the government’s strategy is the Mazar reservoir in Azuay, one of the most important pieces of Ecuador’s hydroelectric system.

Mazar is part of the Paute Integral hydroelectric complex, which also includes the Paute-Molino and Sopladora generating plants. Together, the facilities represent a major share of the electricity available to the national grid.

The reservoir has been losing water during September as inflows have fallen below normal levels.

By September 18, Mazar stood at approximately 2,138.8 meters above sea level, more than 14 meters below its maximum operating level of 2,153 meters.

Energy officials have warned that without measures to reduce demand, available water could fall to problematic levels by the middle or latter part of October.

The industrial restrictions are intended to change that calculation. Energy Minister Juan Carlos Blum said reducing demand from the country’s biggest consumers could allow the government to conserve enough water to carry Mazar into December.

That would provide considerably more breathing room as Ecuador waits to see how weather conditions develop.

Workweeks could change, too

Disconnecting industries one day per week is only part of the plan.

The government is also considering changing work schedules at some companies to spread electricity demand more evenly across the week.

Under one possibility, some businesses would operate Tuesday through Saturday while others would work Sunday through Thursday. That would shift some industrial electricity use into weekends, when national demand is generally lower.

The proposal would require coordination with the Ministry of Labor because weekend schedules could otherwise increase labor costs through overtime and other legally required payments.

Government officials and electricity distributors are discussing the arrangements with industry groups rather than imposing a single shutdown day on every company.

Some businesses could disconnect on Mondays, others on Fridays, and in some cases, reductions could be organized by hours rather than an entire day. The central requirement is that participating industries achieve the targeted reduction in electrical load.

Large users face another December deadline

The short-term conservation program also comes as Ecuador’s biggest electricity consumers approach a separate deadline.

Under rules adopted in 2025, high-voltage customers that did not already have their own generating capacity were given 18 months to install systems capable of supplying their electricity needs. That deadline expires December 15th.

The requirement was designed to reduce the burden large industrial users place on Ecuador’s public electricity system, particularly during periods when hydroelectric generation is constrained.

For industries that still cannot generate their own electricity after the deadline, the government is considering supplying power from privately contracted generation, including floating power plants, at its actual cost.

That could be substantially more expensive than the electricity prices industries currently pay.

Officials argue that the government cannot indefinitely purchase expensive electricity from outside sources and then sell it to major industrial consumers at heavily reduced domestic rates.

Homes remain protected—for now

The immediate objective is to avoid repeating the widespread electricity rationing Ecuador has experienced during previous periods of severe drought.

Officials say current conditions allow them to maintain normal residential service while concentrating conservation measures on the country’s largest electricity consumers.

Much depends, however, on something the government cannot control: the weather.

The industrial conservation plan is based on current reservoir levels, projected demand and expected generation. A stronger-than-anticipated dry period or significant changes associated with El Niño could alter those calculations.

For now, the government is betting that taking hundreds of megawatts of industrial demand off the grid each week will preserve enough water at Mazar to keep Ecuador’s lights on while the country moves through the final months of 2026.