ARCONEL approves environmental license for the 500 kV Ecuador-Peru power line

The Electricity Regulation and Control Agency (ARCONEL) approved the Environmental Impact Study and Environmental Management Plan for the 500 kV transmission line project between Ecuador and Peru (Chorrillos-Pasaje-Border Transmission System) and granted the environmental license to the Electricity Corporation of Ecuador (CELEC EP) for the construction, operation, maintenance, and closure phases. The decision is contained in Resolution No. ARCONEL-SUIA-LA-2026-00001, signed in Quito on September 3, 2026, and published in the Third Supplement of Official Registry No. 380 on Wednesday, September 30, 2026. The project is located in the provinces of Guayas, Azuay, and El Oro and has the SUIA code No. MAE-RA-2026-589588.

The scope of the resolution

Article 1 approves the study and its management plan based on the Intersection Certificate issued via official letter No. MAE-SUIA-RA-DRA-2026-00059 dated March 26, 2026, which establishes that the project does not intersect with the National System of Protected Areas (SNAP), the National Forest Heritage, or Intangible Zones. Article 2 grants the environmental license to CELEC EP for the entire life cycle of the project, and Article 4 specifies that the authorization is valid from its issuance until the completion of the activities and the fulfillment of environmental obligations.

Article 5 extinguishes Resolution No. MAATE-SCA-2023-0006-R dated April 28, 2023, which had granted a previous license for the construction, operation, and closure phase of the same system. The background for the new process was the variation of the route which, according to official letter No. MAATE-DRA-2023-0954-O dated September 20, 2023, compromised “a larger geographical area and in a different sector than previously authorized.”

Environmental consultation and citizen participation

The citizen participation process for the environmental consultation was developed in two phases, informative and consultative, in accordance with Executive Decree No. 754, published in the Second Supplement of Official Registry No. 323 on June 2, 2023. The informative phase was delegated to eight ARCONEL officials:

• Eng. María José Rivadeneira Otero
• Soc. Angela Estefanía Guerron Mogollon
• Mgs. Alexandra Nathaly Verdezoto Coloma
• Mgs. Evelyn Alexandra Puga Alvarez
• Lcdo. Carlos Augusto Mejia Vargas
• Eng. Katherine Viviana Silva Sanchez
• Lcda. Jenny Elizabeth Correa Parra
• Mgs. María José Cabrera Chauca

ARCONEL notified the schedule to the Ombudsman’s Office and its provincial delegates via official letter No. ARCONEL-CNAE-2026-0078-O dated May 22, 2026. On August 27, 2026, the Executive Directorate approved the systematization report of the consultative phase and concluded the process, according to memorandum No. ARCONEL-ARCONEL-2026-0314-ME.

Payments, obligations, and control

The Guayas Zonal Directorate of the Ministry of Environment and Energy valued the project’s implementation area at 1,747.25 hectares and set the payment for the removal of native vegetation cover at 53,029.35 dollars, calculated using the methodology of Ministerial Agreement No. 134. The payment for environmental services must be made to current account No. 8397171 at Banco del Pacífico in favor of ARCONEL, and the control and monitoring are calculated at a rate of 80 dollars per daily inspection and three days of technical visits, totaling 1,200 dollars.

The license imposes ten obligations on CELEC EP, including strict compliance with the approved study, conducting internal monitoring, submitting environmental compliance audits, facilitating technical control, and being responsible for its contractors and subcontractors. The Third Provision entrusts the application and control of the resolution to the Electrical Environmental Coordination of ARCONEL, and the Fifth orders its publication in the Official Registry as it is of general interest.

ARCONEL acts as the Competent Environmental Authority for the electrical sector at a national level, an accreditation conferred through Resolution No. MAATE-MAATE-2025-0002-R of April 22, 2025. The publication was managed via official letter No. ARCONEL-DGDA-2026-0046-O of September 23, 2026, signed by Mgs. Débora Tatiana Aragón Auz, Director of Document Management and Archive.

The resolution enables the execution of the infrastructure that will connect the Ecuadorian electrical system with the Peruvian one and establishes the environmental conditions under which it must be constructed and operated. For the communities settled along the route of Guayas, Azuay, and El Oro, the document records that their observations were gathered during the environmental consultation and that subsequent control remains in the hands of ARCONEL.

Source: Official Registry, Third Supplement No. 380, Wednesday, September 30, 2026, section I, pp. 1-79 (official reference: Resolution No. ARCONEL-SUIA-LA-2026-00001).