News Latin America
Massive blackout that hit Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay being investigated by energy officials
Bars and shops close their doors during the massive energy blackout in Argentina Photo by Ricardo Ceppi/Getty Images
A woman prepares milk bottles using candles at her home in Montevideo, Uruguay Photo by MIGUEL ROJO / AFP
Paul Byrne and Patricia Luna
June 17 2019 7:53 AM
Authorities are investigating the cause of a massive power blackout that affected tens of millions of people in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.
https://www.independent.ie/world-news/latin-america/massive-blackout-that-hit-argentina-uruguay-and-paraguay-being-investigated-by-energy-officials-38225305.html
https://www.independent.ie/incoming/article38225290.ece/8d860/AUTOCROP/h342/1156295393%202.jpg
As power is restored, experts are still largely unsure about what caused the collapse of the interconnected grid system.
Argentinian president Mauricio Macri promised a thorough investigation into what he called an "unprecedented" outage.
The blackout raises questions about flaws in South America's grid, which connects many of the region's largest countries.
Energy officials said the results of the investigation will be available in 10 to 15 days.
They could not immediately provide details on the economic impact of the blackout, which came on a Sunday, and a day before a national holiday in Argentina.
Argentina's power grid is generally known for being in a state of disrepair, with substations and cables that were insufficiently upgraded as power rates remained largely frozen for years.
The country's energy secretary said the blackout occurred about 7am local time when a key Argentine interconnection system collapsed.
The Argentine energy company Edesur said on Twitter that the failure originated at an electricity transmission point between the power stations at the country's Yacyreta dam and Salto Grande in the country's north-east.
READ MORE: Mystery blackout cuts power to 44 million in South America
An Argentine independent energy expert said that systemic operational and design errors played a role in the power grid's collapse.
"A localised failure like the one that occurred should be isolated by the same system," said Raul Bertero, president of the Centre for the Study of Energy Regulatory Activity in Argentina.
"The problem is known and technology and studies (exist) to avoid it."
In Paraguay, power in rural communities in the south, near the border with Argentina and Uruguay, was also cut. The country's National Energy Administration said service was restored by afternoon by redirecting energy from the Itaipu hydroelectric plant the country shares with neighbouring Brazil.
In Argentina, only the southernmost province of Tierra del Fuego was unaffected by the outage because it is not connected to the main power grid.
Brazilian and Chilean officials said their countries had not been affected.
Many residents of Argentina and Uruguay said the size of the outage was unprecedented.
"I was just on my way to eat with a friend, but we had to cancel everything. There's no subway, nothing is working," said Lucas Acosta, a 24-year-old Buenos Aires resident.
"What's worse, today is Father's Day. I've just talked to a neighbour and he told me his sons won't be able to meet him."
"I've never seen something like this," said Silvio Ubermann, a taxi driver in the Argentine capital. "Never such a large blackout in the whole country."
Several Argentine provinces had elections for governor on Sunday, which proceeded with voters using their phone screens and built-in flashlights to illuminate their ballots.
"This is the biggest blackout in history, I don't remember anything like this in Uruguay," said Valentina Gimenez, a resident of the capital, Montevideo.
PA Media
Baby girl dies after tragic fall from cruise ship
Danica Coto A one-year-old girl apparently slipped from her grandfather's hands and fell to her death from a cruise ship docked in Puerto Rico, police said.
Venezuela blasts 'biased vision' in UN rights report
Jamey Keaten A top Venezuelan diplomat yesterday blasted what he called the "biased vision" of a report by the UN human rights chief chronicling torture, sexual abuse and extrajudicial killings in the country,...
Argentine soccer giant River Plate opens stadium to homeless as winter bites
Ramiro Scandalo Argentine soccer club River Plate opened the doors of its Monumental stadium on Wednesday to give shelter to people living on the streets, as temperatures fell during the Southern Hemisphere...
'It took an Irishman to revolutionise the way England play cricket' - Morgan lauded after... Cricket
Chocolatiers at Cadbury World have celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 1969 lunar landing by creating a space scene depicting Neil...
Beyonce's new album inspired by The Lion King features...
An alligator that eluded Chicago authorities for a week has met with the media...