SANTIAGO, Chile—A massive power outage across Chile plunged the country’s capital Santiago into darkness on Feb. 25 and knocked out electricity to major copper mines in the country’s north, buffeting global metal markets.
Hours after the outage began and as darkness fell, Chile’s government announced a state of emergency and established a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. local time from the northern region of Arica to the southern region of Los Lagos.
The widespread blackout was caused by a transmission line failure in the country’s north, Chilean Interior Minister Carolina Tohá said, ruling out a cyberattack as the cause.
Chile’s largest power cut in years saw streetlights in the capital go dark, while sirens from emergency vehicles blared across the city, according to witnesses. The Santiago metro system, which transports millions of passengers, was closed and passengers were evacuated from stalled trains.
“There’s nothing. There’s no cash. No money. Nothing,” Jose Luis Orlandini, who was eating in downtown Santiago when the outage hit, said.
The interior ministry said it was deploying the armed forces across the country to help maintain order.
As of 10 p.m. local time, about one-quarter of the electrical grid’s demand was back on line, and power could be fully restored by morning, according to Juan Carlos Olmedo, board president of Chile’s National Electricity Coordinator (CEN).
In a late-night television address to the nation, Chilean President Gabriel Boric said 8 million homes had been affected but that power had been restored to about half of them.
“What happened today is outrageous because it’s not tolerable that one or several companies impact the everyday life of millions of Chileans, and that’s why it’s the state’s duty to hold them responsible,” Boric said.
Residents in the neighborhood of Providencia in the capital erupted in cheers as lights flickered back on.
Copper Mines Hit
The outage hit areas from the mining-intensive north to the central and southern regions that are home to most of the Andean country’s population, and operations at key copper mines were affected. Chile is the world’s top copper producer.Escondida, the world’s largest copper mine, was without electricity, a source with knowledge of the situation told Reuters.
State-owned copper mining company Codelco said all of its mines had been affected. The Chuquicamata, Andina, Salvador, and El Teniente mines were without power, according to the company, which said its other mines were using backup power generation to operate on a partial basis.
Mining companies Antofagasta and Anglo American both said their mines were operating with generators.
The power outage affected the country from the northern Arica and Parinacota region to the southern Los Lagos region, according to Chile’s national disaster prevention and response service. No emergency situations have been reported.
Chile’s DGAC Civil Aviation Authority said that Santiago’s Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport was operating normally, but LATAM Airlines said some flights could be affected by the outage.
