Connecting to the Grid

CHILE – Power Blackout Hits Most Of Country

Saturday, November 8, 2003

Most of Chile lost power in a major blackout on Friday evening, snarling rush hour traffic in the capital. The blackout began at about 7:20 pm, and power was back in about a third of the affected areas at 9:00 pm, National Electricity Superintendent Sergio Espejo told Television Nacional television network.

He said the country's central grid went down, but gave no other explanation for the blackout, which was total in a large part of central Chile. He said all power should be back up by about 10:00 pm. "The system is coming up bit by bit and once everything is normalized we'll begin investigations," he said.

At 9:00 pm lights were gradually coming on in parts of the capital, home to 5 million people or one third of the country's population. Television reports said power went out as far as Puerto Montt, a city some 600 miles south of Santiago, and in areas the same distance to the north.

(Source: Reuters, 11/7/03)