A massive blackout affected 80% of electricity service customers in Chile this Tuesday, according to the Superintendency of Electricity and Fuels.
In response to the emergency, the Chilean government convened the Disaster Risk Management Committee (Cogrid) to assess the unprecedented situation.
Interior Minister Carolina Tohá ruled out the possibility of an attack and stated that “it appears to be a failure within the system itself.” She also assured that work is underway to restore electricity service and that power is expected to be fully restored within the next few hours.
The National Electrical Coordinator, the organization responsible for operating the system, announced that an investigation will be conducted to determine the causes of the blackout. The entity also activated the Service Recovery Plan after the power outage occurred at 3:16 PM local time, affecting regions from Arica to Los Lagos.
According to the preliminary report, the power interruption was caused by the disconnection of part of the electricity transmission system.
—Developing story—
