A massive power outage in Chile on February 25, 2025, left the capital Santiago in darkness and disrupted operations in flights, subway operations and major copper mines in the north. An estimated 8 million homes were affected, with power restored to about half by late evening.
The blackout, caused by a transmission line failure in the north of the country, led the government to declare a state of emergency and impose a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. across several regions.
Chile’s National Electricity Coordinator CEN is currently investigating the cause of the outage. Its executive director Ernesto Huber confirmed several power stations, including hydroelectric ones, had been activated to protect the grid and end the outage.