2011 Chile blackout

The 2011 Chile blackout was a major power outage that occurred on 24 September 2011, approximately between 20:30 and 21:45 local time (23:30 and 00:45 UTC respectively), although the time of reinstatement varied geographically. It mainly affected the regions from Coquimbo to Maule, where the blackout was total, but it also reportedly partially affected the Atacama and Bío Bío regions. The blackout affected approximately nine million Chileans.

Chile has 4 electrical interconnections that operate independently. In the blackout, the Central Interconnected System (SIC) collapsed.

Prior to the blackout, 5 transmission lines had been removed from service for maintenance.

The cause of the blackout, which started at 20:30 local time (UTC−03:00), was later determined to be equipment failure at an electrical substation. In particular, it began with a single phase short circuit. and forced the evacuation of thousands of rail and rapid transit passengers in Santiago, the capital city. It also delayed a concert by pop singer Ricky Martin A supermarket in Quilicura was looted, and a youth was wounded during a confrontation between the looters and police.

The outage affected operations at a number of copper mines, of which Chile is the world's top producer. The Los Bronces mine, operated by Anglo American, halted production temporarily and later, with power from generators, resumed at one-third capacity. CODELCO, Chile's state-owned copper mining company, reported that its Andina division and the El Teniente mine had lost power but continued operations using generators until power was restored.