A telephone call was key in the operation that led to raids on facilities of the National Electricity Corporation (CNEL) and the Centro Sur Electric Company in three provinces of the country.
President Daniel Noboa pointed out on social networks, on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, that a network that operated for more than eleven years was dismantled and that would have caused damage to the State of at least $300 million, through the alteration of energy consumption sheets, irregular claims and manipulation of electrical projects.
The investigation, according to the Ministry of Environment and Energy, would have started from an internal audit requested by the head of that State portfolio, Inés Manzano.
According to the police report of the same date, to which Diario EL UNIVERSO had access, a person identified as “Pablo” informed the authorities that CNEL officials were tampering with the billing system, causing harm to the State.
However, “due to the non-functioning and damage of the 1800-CELLO system, the phone call was not recorded“, details the official document.
In that communication, the complainant gave the names of 23 officials allegedly involved.
Daniel Noboa: ‘We dismantled a corruption network in CNEL that operated for more than 11 years’
In a message on her social networks, the same Tuesday, Minister Manzano confirmed that in total there were 46 people detained to take their statements regarding the case.
Eight people reported would belong to the Guayaquil Business Unit; four would be from the Santa Elena Business Unit; three would be linked to the Electricity Regulation and Control Agency (Arconel); six from the CNEL central plant; and two from the South Center Business Unit, which does not correspond to CNEL but to that distributor, based in Cuenca.
This newspaper learned that all the detained workers regained their freedom that same Tuesday at 9:00 p.m.
The minister detailed in a video, released on the night of April 28, how the detected network supposedly operated.
A first mechanism was that, according to Manzano, Once the user’s electricity consumption was recorded normally, a contractor would take the meter reading and enter it into the system.
Then, he commented, “from within, Officials intervened in this data, reduced the actual reading of electricity consumption and altered the records, generating a new invoice with values up to 80% lower.without support, without justification and without control”.
Manzano revealed that the second mechanism was the complaint, since the user filed a complaint, the CNEL denied it based on the actual consumption recorded, but, in the second instance, the case was passed to the regulatory entity and there the debt was completely eliminatedbecause it was reported that there were no amounts to pay.
“Two different mechanisms, the same consequence: preventing the real value of the energy consumed from being paid,” he said.
Raids at CNEL leave 50 detained in Guayas, Azuay and Santa Elena, confirms Reimberg
Workers and retirees consulted They expressed their bewilderment at the operations of the Prosecutor’s Office and the Police.
The sources indicated that they found out about the raids through social networks and that they had been surprised by the retention of low-ranking officials.
One of those consulted, with more than three decades of service in the company, explained that CNEL’s billing system does not allow any employee to make changes at will.
According to his account, access to sensitive system functions is restricted by authorization levels.
“The common colleague does not handle passwords to make discounts,” he indicated, adding that those who do have that access are middle and senior managers.
The sources described the internal flow of the system: a customer service employee logs in with his password, prepares a file with the user’s information and sends it to a superior, who reviews, adds observations and elevates it to instances with a higher level of authorization, from where decisions are made on adjustments to the invoiced values.
And they questioned the responsibility of employees with one or two years of seniority in the company, within the framework of an investigation that points to a network with more than eleven years of operation. “There are people who have been working there for two or three years,” they indicated, in reference to some of the people detained during the operation in the Guayas-Los Ríos Business Unit.
Regarding middle and senior management, the workers did not rule out responsibilities at that level, but indicated that it is up to the justice authorities to determine it.
The sources consulted acknowledged that there are cases of irregularities in the company. “As everywhere there are good and bad,” they admitted.
Given the statement by the Minister of the Interior, John Reimberg, that there are company employees with a basic salary whose assets are striking, the employees and retirees consulted indicated that it requires contextualization, but did not explain in what sense.
For this Thursday, April 30, 2026, An official statement is expected from the CNEL Works Committee, which these days is divided into two groups that demand representation. (YO)
