Large-Scale Power Outage Affects Chilean Copper Mines; No Timetable for Restoration Yet

According to Webstock Inc., citing foreign media on February 25, a massive power outage occurred on Tuesday across large areas of Chile, disrupting mining operations in the world's largest copper-producing country and causing power cuts for residents in Santiago.

Ernesto Huber, head of Chile's National Electricity Coordinator (CEN), stated that there is currently no timetable for restoring power nationwide, adding that power has already begun to be restored in northern and southern regions.

Huber said, "We have started up several power stations, mainly hydropower plants." He added that CEN is still investigating the cause of the outage.

Huber noted that companies are working to restore power "as soon as possible," and the agency will provide a more detailed update at 9:30 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. Beijing time).

According to the government, the outage affected areas from the mining-intensive northern region to the central and southern regions, where most of the population resides, including the capital Santiago.

A source familiar with the matter said that the world's largest copper mine, Escondida, experienced a power outage, while Codelco stated that all of its mines were affected.

Codelco reported that the Chuquicamata, Andina, Salvador, and El Teniente copper mines were without power, while other mines were partially using backup power.

Antofagasta and Anglo American both stated that their mines were operating on generators.

According to Chile's National Disaster Prevention and Response System (SENAPRED), the power outage affected regions from Arica and Parinacota in the north to Los Lagos in the south, but no emergencies have been reported so far.

Chile's Civil Aviation Authority stated that Santiago's Arturo Merino International Airport was operating normally, but LAN Airlines indicated that some flights might be affected by the outage.

Witnesses reported that streetlights in the capital were out, emergency vehicle sirens echoed throughout the city, and the Santiago Metro was out of service.

Chile's Interior Minister Carolina Toha stated that the outage was caused by a failure in power transmission lines in the northern part of the country, ruling out the possibility of a cyberattack.

Toha said that power should begin to be restored "within the next few hours."

Toha added, "We hope that what we have been informed will happen, that power services will be restored in the coming hours. Otherwise, we will have to take different measures."

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