Environment and Energy appoints Lara Moreno as executive director of CENACE

The Minister of Environment and Energy, Juan Carlos Damián Blum Baquero, appointed Master Danny Gabriel Lara Moreno as Executive Director of the National Electricity Operator (CENACE), through Agreement No. MAE-MAE-2026-0103-AM, signed on October 16, 2026, and published in Supplement No. 402 of the Official Registry on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, on page 2. The same instrument expresses gratitude for the services provided by the outgoing head, César Alfredo Aguilar Alvarado, and terminates his appointment at the helm of the electrical system operator.

The decision occurs within the context of an energy emergency declared by the operator itself. According to Agreement MAE-MAE-2026-0098-AM, published in Official Registry No. 400 on October 29, 2026, CENACE submitted on October 2, via official letter CENACE-CENACE-2026-1881-0, the report and update of the “Contingency Plan to Manage the Generation Deficit Condition in the National Interconnected System,” which justifies management measures and demand restrictions of between 15% and 20% to prevent the equivalent reservoir of Mazar from falling below its critical level of 2125 m above sea level.

The departure of the previous head and profile validation

The vacancy opened when Aguilar Alvarado made the position available via official letter CENACE-CENACE-2026-1958-O, dated October 14, 2026. His resignation was accepted on October 16, 2026, with Memorandum No. MAE-MAE-2026-0305-ME, signed by the highest authority of the ministry.

Prior to the appointment, three internal filters were completed, all dated October 16, 2026:

• Technical Report No. DATH-2026-1358, from the Human Talent Administration Directorate, which validated the profile: sworn statement in accordance with Art. 9 of the LOSPEE Regulations, absence of impediment according to Art. 3 of the LOSEP, and compliance with Art. 22 of the LOSPEE.
• Memorandum No. MAE-COGEJ-2026-1388-ME, from the General Legal Coordination, which concluded the viability and appropriateness of issuing the agreement.
• Certification from the Secretary General, Luis Carlos Artieda Carrera, dated October 21, 2026, accrediting that the agreement consists of four pages and is a true copy of the original signed with an electronic signature in the Quipux system.

Legal requirements for the position

Article 22 of the Organic Law of the Public Electric Energy Service (LOSPEE) requires four conditions to hold the executive directorship of CENACE:

• Be Ecuadorian.
• Possess a duly recognized professional degree in electrical engineering and a fourth-level academic degree.
• Accredit professional experience of at least ten years in the electricity sector.
• Comply with the other conditions of the general regulations of the law.

Added to this is Article 9 of the General Regulations of the LOSPEE, which requires the holder, prior to taking office, to submit a sworn statement declaring that they do not maintain, nor have they maintained in the last five years, employment ties with private companies in the electricity sector, nor do they possess shares or interests in them.

Competencies of the operator and scope of the appointment

Article 20 of the LOSPEE defines CENACE as a strategic technical body attached to the governing ministry, the technical operator of the National Interconnected System (SNI), and the commercial administrator of energy block transactions, with operational, administrative, economic, and technical autonomy, and funded by the General State Budget and contributions from participating companies.

Article 23 of the same law assigns to the Executive Director, among other powers, legal, judicial, and extrajudicial representation; the execution of the operation of the electrical system; the determination of the annual quotas for participating companies; the issuance of administrative acts and the signing of contracts; the submission of the annual technical and economic report within the first quarter, and the submission of the operating and investment budget for ministerial approval.

The agreement also recalls that CENACE is part of the institutional structure of the sector along with the Ministry of Environment and Energy, the Electricity Regulation and Control Agency (ARCONEL), and specialized institutes, pursuant to Article 9 of the LOSPEE. The governing ministry assumed these competencies following the merger by absorption ordered by Executive Decree No. 94 of August 14, 2025, and Blum Baquero was appointed minister via Executive Decree No. 376 of May 7, 2026.

Validity, taking office, and pending procedures

The agreement is effective from its signing, without prejudice to its publication in the Official Registry. Its final provisions entrust the notification to the General Administrative Financial Coordination, the publication on the institutional website to the Social Communication Directorate, and the submission to the Official Registry to the General Secretariat. The administrative units of CENACE must carry out the necessary actions to perfect the provisions and proceed with the inauguration of Lara Moreno; the text warns that the appointee will be civilly, administratively, and even criminally liable for their actions or omissions in the exercise of the position.

The change of command arrives during the most delicate stage of the low-water period: the Ministry of Environment and Energy has already established temporary energy saving and efficiency incentive mechanisms, featuring surcharges for medium and high-voltage regulated consumers and discounts for residential users who prove a verifiable reduction in consumption, the application of which in November and December 2026 remained subject to the resolution of ARCONEL. For readers, the relevance lies in the fact that the new head of CENACE will be the one to manage the dispatch, commercial settlements, and the application of the contingency plan during those two critical months, meaning their management will directly impact the continuity of supply and the tariffs for the final quarter of the year.

Source: Official Registry, Supplement No. 402, November 4, 2026, Section I (Executive Function, Agreements), p. 2 (official reference: MAE-MAE-2026-0103-AM).