Millions in Chile Face Darkness as Power Outage Spreads Nationwide

A woman sells candles during the outrage in Concepción as power outages continue across parts of Chile.

Media reports indicate that some electricity has been restored in areas of Santiago, despite a near-nationwide blackout that left vast portions of the country without power. A state of emergency was declared with curfews imposed on affected regions where soldiers have been deployed.

The third day of Viña del Mar festival, Latin America’s largest music event, has been canceled due to ongoing issues.

Hospitals and prisons across Chile are operating on emergency generators while transport is severely disrupted. The government blames a system failure for the power outages that have affected approximately eight million homes, with about half of them having their power restored so far.

President Gabriel Boric addressed the nation on TV, stating: “What happened today is outrageous. It’s intolerable that one or several companies should affect the everyday life of millions of Chileans, and that’s why it’s the state’s duty to hold them responsible.”

The national service for disaster prevention and response reported earlier that the outage stretched from regions in northern Arica and Parinacota to southern Los Lagos. The world’s largest copper mine, Escondida, has also been without power according to a source close to the matter.

Latam Airlines warned some of its flights might be disrupted while power supplies are down, advising passengers to check their journey status. Santiago Metro’s operator suspended services due to the blackout, evacuating and closing stations.

AFP news agency quoted Maria Angelica Roman, 45: “They let us leave work because of the power cut, but now I don’t know how we will get home; all the buses are full.”

Chile’s Interior Minister Carolina Toha posted on X that a meeting would be called to discuss further measures for restoring services.