An urgent electrical demand.

Ecuador has moved from occasional power exporter to structural deficit. Electricity demand has been growing at roughly 7 percent per year, with system demand projected around 40,000 GWh by 2025. Yet very little firm capacity has been added since 2016, leaving an estimated 19,000 GWh gap and a need for about 2,100–2,200 MW of new generation just to get back on track.

This under-investment translated into a full-blown crisis in 2023–2024. Severe drought at major hydro plants and neglected thermal assets meant that out of roughly 2 GW of installed fossil capacity, only about 880 MW was truly operational. Rolling blackouts started at up to 8 hours per day and by late 2024 reached 12–14 hours in many cities, with cumulative economic losses estimated between US$2 and US$7.5 billion.

To keep the lights on, the government has rented fuel-oil generators at roughly US$0.22–0.24 per kWh and paid up to US$0.60 per kWh for emergency imports from Colombia. In October 2024, regulators introduced a dedicated tariff for new private renewable and biomass projects of about US$0.11864 per kWh, with rates grandfathered once permitting is submitted — creating a clear price signal for long-term private generation.

Against this backdrop, coastal and urban demand nodes are not just colors on a map — they are the front lines of the deficit, and the foundation of RDT's investment thesis.