A massive power outage left 98% of the population of Chile without energy on Tuesday, leading to the declaration of a curfew across the country and the suspension of various activities, such as the Viña del Mar International Festival and the Chile Open tennis tournament. The power cut, which occurred at 15:16 local time, affected about 19 million service customers in regions extending from Arica and Parinacota to Los Lagos, covering nearly 2,400 kilometers.
The chairman of the National Electric Coordinator, Juan Carlos Olmedo, indicated that service is expected to be fully restored by dawn on Wednesday. It was determined that the outage was caused by a disconnection in the 500 kV transmission system in North Chico.
Gabriel Boric, president of Chile, explained that the electrical failure was due to a problem in the transmission line of the ISA InterChile company, between Vallenar and Coquimbo. In response, a state of exception for catastrophe and a curfew were declared, which would be in effect from 22:00 on Tuesday until 06:00 on Wednesday in the affected regions.
Ricardo Montero, Deputy Minister of Defense, reported that 3,000 military personnel were deployed across the country as part of the curfew. The Santiago Metro suspended its service, which created difficulties for the movement of citizens, while airports continued to operate with modifications to flight schedules.
On the other hand, activities such as a match of the ATP 250 Chile Open and the third night of the Viña del Mar International Song Festival had to be canceled. The Government announced the suspension of classes for nearly 300,000 students in the affected regions.
Finally, the process of restoring electrical energy began at 20:00, prioritizing the center of Santiago and Concepción. However, around midnight, it was reported that 42% of customers in the country still did not have electricity supply, and warnings were issued about the instability of the grid.
