Power outage leaves most of Chile in darkness for hours
A major power outage left almost all of Chile in the dark and authorities declared a state of emergency due to a catastrophe and imposed a curfew from 10 p.m. local time to 6 a.m. The cause of the power outage is still unknown and an emergency committee has been convened to assess the situation.
A massive blackout has left much of Chile and even two provinces in Argentina in the dark, where power cuts have paralyzed public transport and affected the daily lives of the population. The government of Chilean President Gabriel Boric is trying to address the situation and restore service as soon as possible.
The power outage reportedly occurred at around 3:16 p.m. local time (18:16 GMT), affecting 95 percent of Chile and stretching from Arica in the north to the Los Lagos region in the south.
According to Chile's National Electrical Coordinator, the blackout was caused by a disconnection in the 500 kV transmission system in the Norte Chico sector, in the central part of the country. However, the exact cause of the blackout remains unknown and is under investigation.
The blackout has caused a number of problems across the country, including in the capital, Santiago, where the interruption of the electricity supply has led to the closure of banks, shops and shopping centres, as well as traffic chaos due to the lack of functioning traffic lights. The metro service has also been paralyzed, affecting the mobility of thousands of people.
Little by little the light returns
"As of midnight on Wednesday, February 26, the equivalent of 90% of household consumption has been restored," the National Electric Coordinator reported in a statement sent to the press.
In the middle of the southern hemisphere summer, 95% of Chile's 20 million inhabitants suffered an unusual interruption of service on Tuesday afternoon that plunged the country into chaos and confusion. This is the worst blackout recorded in Chile since 2010, when a large part of the population was left without electricity due to a power cut in the Biobío region (south).
The government quickly ruled out the possibility of an attack on the power grid.
"There is no reason to assume that an attack is behind this. It would be a failure of the system itself," said Interior Minister Carolina Toha at a press conference.
Boric blamed the private companies that manage the electrical system for the emergency. "This is outrageous! It is not possible that the daily lives of millions of Chileans are being disrupted in this way by companies that do not do their job properly," he stressed, while announcing sanctions.