SANTIAGO, Chile – A vast power outage plunged Chile into darkness on Tuesday, disrupting the daily lives of many as it incapacitated public transport, shut down businesses, and left millions without electricity.
The nation’s grid operator, the National Electrical Coordinator, reported a disruption in a critical high-voltage transmission line. This line transports electricity from the northern Atacama Desert down to Santiago, the capital nestled in the central valley of the country. However, the specific cause behind the disruption that triggered widespread grid shutdowns remains unidentified.
Senapred, Chile’s national disaster response agency, acknowledged that the “disruption in electricity supply” had ignited an extensive power outage across 14 of 16 regions, including the densely populated Santiago, home to around 8.4 million residents. As a result, the city’s subway operations were indefinitely suspended.
Carolina Tohá, Chile’s Interior Minister, reassured the public that essential services, including hospitals, prisons, and government facilities, had switched to backup generators to maintain crucial systems. She urged calm during a press conference, emphasizing that the government was rushing to restore power to the roughly 19 million citizens affected.
“This impacts the entire electrical infrastructure of the country,” Tohá noted regarding the disruption of the 500-kV backbone transmission line. She also mentioned that should power not be fully reinstated by sunset, the government might need to implement emergency measures to prevent any escalating crisis.
Saesa, a leading electricity distributor in Chile serving over a million individuals, confirmed a total power failure among its customers. Emergency services worked to evacuate passengers from dark tunnels and subway stations not only in Santiago but throughout the nation, including bustling areas like Valparaiso.
Across Chile—an elongated nation stretching over 2,600 miles along the Pacific coast—social media clips showed chaotic scenes with inactive traffic lights at major junctions. Commuters resorted to using mobile phones for light in the underground metro, while police facilitated building evacuations.
Transport Minister Juan Carlos Muñoz advised citizens to stay indoors due to the irregular operation of public transport systems. He reported that merely 27% of city traffic lights were operational. Additionally, in many regions, mobile phone networks experienced severe disruptions.
Despite the nationwide blackout, Santiago International Airport managed uninterrupted flight operations by switching to emergency power supply.
