MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Nationwide curfew decreed in Chile amid mass blackout

It was Chile's worst blackout since 2010

About 98% of Chile's population was left Tuesday without electricity, prompting President Gabriel Boric Font to decree a curfew between 10 pm to 6 am Wednesday with 3,000 troops deployed nationwide. The outage began at 3.16 pm after a failure in an ISA InterChile transmission line between Vallenar and Coquimbo, causing a chain reaction that disconnected key parts of the national grid. Boric said the incident was “intolerable,” and vowed to hold the subsidiary of Colombia’s ISA accountable.

“The partial replacement that has been taking place is good news, but we must be very clear that what happened today outrages us because it is not tolerable that due to the responsibility of one or several companies, the daily life of millions of Chilean men and women is affected, and therefore, it is the duty of the State of Chile to enforce those responsibilities,” he said.

Power restoration began gradually at around 8 pm in Santiago and Concepción. By midnight, 42% of customers were still without electricity, although service would be restored to 90% of households by early Wednesday, according to Undersecretary of the Interior, Luis Cordero. Full recovery was expected by morning, though the grid remained “unstable,” he also pointed out. The government downplayed sabotage claims. “There is no reason to suppose that behind this there is an attack. It would be a failure inherent to the functioning of the system,” Interior Minister Carolina Tohá underlined. Hospitals and prisons were able to continue operating with emergency generators.

It was Chile’s worst blackout since a power grid outage in the Biobío region (south) in 2010 caused havoc nationwide. “The electrical coordinator has committed to restore service during the early hours of the morning and most people's utilities.”

National Electric Coordinator Chief Juan Carlos Olmedo pointed out that 100% could be restored early Wednesday and explained that the outage was caused by a disconnection of the 500 kV transmission system in Norte Chico. “At 00H00 hours this Wednesday, February 26, the equivalent of 90% of the consumption” of homes has been recovered, the National Electric Coordinator said in a statement.

“Tonight's shows will have to be rescheduled for Saturday, March 1, 2025,” the Viña del Mar Festival organization said after the event was called off as was the international men's tennis tournament in Santiago.

Olmedo insisted that Interchile was responsible for the failure that caused the massive blackout after an “event in the Nueva Maitencillo - Nueva Pan de Azúcar 2x500 kV Electric Transmission Line, located between Vallenar and Coquimbo, when it was operating with a transfer of approximately 1,800 MW,” which triggered emergency protocols.