* Ecuador’s state-owned power generation company, Corporación Eléctrica del Ecuador (Celec), has announced that its Esmeraldas thermoelectric plant is once again operational as part of efforts to mitigate an energy crisis that has forced the government to impose rolling blackouts. The Esmeraldas plant, which has a maximum output of 125 megawatts, had been closed for restoration works in 2021. Celec said that the resumption of power generation at the plant is “indispensable while we deal with current low water levels”, which have caused a reduction in output at hydroelectric plants in Ecuador and neighbouring Colombia. Ecuador’s state oil company, Petroecuador, also announced on 4 November that it would “guarantee the provision of diesel for the electrical sector”, saying that it would take measures to boost its stockpile and assuring that there would be sufficient fuel supplies for key economic sectors.