Elecaustro opens public tender to choose strategic partner in electricity generation

The Board of Directors of ELECAUSTRO S.A. approved and issued the Regulations for the Development of Associative Projects, which creates the public tender to select partners or strategic allies in electricity generation projects. The decision is recorded in Resolution No. 246-01292, adopted in an ordinary session on September 14, 2026, in Cuenca and published in the Second Supplement of Official Registry No. 388 on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, on page 5.

The instrument is issued under articles 9, 35, and 36 of the Organic Law of Public Companies, which recognize the associative capacity of public companies to establish consortia, strategic alliances, and mixed-economy companies. The regulations shall enter into force upon their publication in the Official Registry and are mandatory for all organs, servants, and units of the company, as well as for proponents, consultants, and financiers involved in any of its phases.

The regulation is framed within the Electricity Master Plan PME 2023-2032, which identifies public and private investment as a condition for launching renewable energy projects, and the Organic Law of Economic Efficiency and Employment Generation, which grants the boards of public companies the authority to determine the requirements and procedures for the selection of private partners. The regulation was signed by the Chairman of the Board, Javier Iza Chango, and the General Manager, Marco Toledo Orozco.

A public tender with its own rules

The regulation defines the public tender as the competitive process through which ELECAUSTRO S.A. selects one or several partners or strategic allies for the co-development of an associative project intended to meet the demand for electrical energy. The call for proposals is the responsibility of the General Management, which also appoints the technical selection commission and signs the resolutions for award, voiding, suspension, or cancellation.

The technical commission will be composed of five directors and their respective alternates, and will be constituted with at least four of its members, including the chairperson, who shall have the casting vote in the event of a tie. The entire procedure will be public and will be disseminated on the company’s institutional website.

Criteria, modalities, and bonuses

The minimum evaluation criteria are:

• Experience in the development, operation, or financing of projects of a similar nature.
• Technical capacity: equipment, methodologies, tools, and technology.
• Financial capacity to fulfill obligations within the planned timeframe.
• Regulatory compliance and absence of disqualifications for contracting with the State.

The planned associative modalities are the consortium, the strategic alliance, and the mixed-economy company, with a state shareholding majority in the latter case. Contracts will be formalized via public deed for an indeterminate amount and may cover new projects (greenfield) or existing infrastructure (brownfield).

Anyone presenting an external initiative declared of institutional interest will receive a 10% bonus of the total competition score; the company will have up to 30 days, extendable only once, to communicate its decision.

Limits and control

The regulation expressly prohibits direct associativity contracts without a competitive public tender, as well as delegating planning, leadership, regulation, or control powers to the partner. Members of the General Shareholders’ Meeting, the Board of Directors, the general manager, employees and workers of the company, nor those who maintain professional service contracts with it, may participate.

Proponents may file a claim against the evaluation report within five days and an appeal against the resolutions of the highest authority within ten days.

The publication opens a formal channel for national and foreign companies in the energy sector to compete to partner with the state generator of the Austro in generation projects, with rules of transparency, risk distribution, and performance-linked remuneration. For the Ecuadorian electricity market, the regulation turns ELECAUSTRO S.A. into a potential partner with its own regulatory framework, in a context of energy transition and pressure to expand supply.

Source: Official Registry, Second Supplement No. 388, Tuesday, October 13, 2026, Executive Branch, p. 5 (official reference: Resolution No. 246-01292).