Chile’s power grid slowly regained functionality after a major transmission line failure caused widespread outages affecting millions and disrupting major copper mines. By Wednesday, over 90% of regular electricity consumption was restored, although some areas remained without power. Authorities have raised concerns over safety systems failing during the incident, and major copper mines have begun to resume operations.
Chile’s power grid and significant copper mining operations began restoring services on Wednesday morning following a substantial outage that struck the nation, the world’s leading copper producer. The outage, triggered by a transmission line failure in northern Chile on Tuesday afternoon, left millions in darkness and disrupted electricity supply to key mining facilities, impacting global metal markets.
As of early Wednesday, Chile’s National Electricity Coordinator reported that electricity had been restored to over 90% of residential users, although some cities still experienced intermittent outages. The incident raised concerns among officials, particularly as safety systems failed during the power restoration efforts.
The outage has been linked to ISA Interchile, a subsidiary of Colombia’s ISA, owned by Ecopetrol. Statements from the company indicated that electronic and software protection systems malfunctioned, disconnecting a high-voltage line and resulting in widespread grid failure. ISA Interchile’s general manager stated that investigations into the root causes are ongoing.
Interior Minister Carolina Toha announced the lifting of the official state of emergency and curfew, which had been in effect since Tuesday evening. About 220,000 users continued to experience power outages, significantly down from the peak of 8 million affected.
Major copper mining operations began the recovery process on Wednesday. Sources reported that Escondida, the largest copper mine globally, anticipated returning to full operations post-outage. Other companies, including Anglo American and Codelco, confirmed their mines and smelters were also gradually resuming work.
Codelco stated that all divisions were prompted to activate backup plans due to the outage. They expressed that assessing the impact on production plans would be a priority. Meanwhile, Santiago’s subway service announced the resumption of operations across most lines.
The large-scale power outage in Chile caused significant disruptions, particularly to the copper mining sector, with most services being restored by Wednesday. Authorities highlighted concerns over safety systems during the outage, leading to calls for thorough investigations. Major copper producers have begun resuming operations, with ongoing assessments of production impacts. The swift response to restore services demonstrates the resilience of infrastructure in the face of unexpected failures.
Original Source: www.mining.com
