(The Post News)– On Tuesday, Chile’s president declared a state of emergency after an electricity blackout got most of the country into darkness; this included Santiago, Chile’s capital. In an address to the nation on Tuesday evening, the outage has affected 8 million homes during Chile’s midsummer.
The National Disaster Prevention and Response Services reported that 14 of the country’s regions were affected by the blackout, which started Tuesday afternoon. The nationwide blackout has crippled internet, mobile services, and transport, leaving commuters stranded as officials scramble to restore power.
Chile’s grid operator, the National Electrical Coordinator, claims a high-voltage backbone transmission line that carries power from the Atacama Desert of northern Chile to Santiago in the country’s central valley was disrupted and caused the blackout. The National Electrical Coordinator did not specify the cause of the disruption but claims to be investigating the matter.
The state of emergency aims to guarantee the safety of the citizens as the outage may last into the night, according to the president. Authorities also announced that a curfew will be implemented from 10pm Tuesday until 6am on Wednesday. President Gabriel Boric has blamed the matter on the electricity companies, claiming it is not tolerable and that millions of people have been affected.
According to the National Electrical Coordinator, about a quarter of the electrical demand had been restored to the grid as of Tuesday. It hopes full power will be restored within the early hours of the morning. Interior Minister Carolina Tohá has encouraged the public to remain calm and said officials were racing to restore power and operations across the country of about 19 million people.
Juan Carlos Muñoz, transport minister, has encouraged people to stay home, warning them against going out, stating that going out in these circumstances is not ideal as the transport system is not operating normally. Muñoz further stated that at the very most, only 27% of the city traffic lights are working.
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