A view shows the Escondida copper mine with its operations paused during a blackout in Antofagasta, Chile February 26, 2025.
On Wednesday morning, February 26, 2025, Chile’s power grid and key copper mines began recovering from a significant outage that affected the country, a leading global supplier of copper. Authorities reported that power companies were actively working to fully restore the system after the disruption hit on Tuesday afternoon.
The outage originated from a transmission line failure in northern Chile, causing widespread blackouts across much of the nation. This event disrupted electricity supply to major copper mines, impacting global metal markets. By early Wednesday, the National Electricity Coordinator (CEN) announced that over 90% of residential power usage had been reinstated, although some cities experienced occasional interruptions.
Interior Minister Carolina Toha addressed the situation during a press conference, stating: "Both the incident and its impact are a cause for worry." She highlighted that multiple backup systems failed to restart properly, and several power stations encountered repeated difficulties during recovery efforts. The issue was traced to ISA Interchile, an energy distribution company under Colombia’s state-owned Ecopetrol. ISA Interchile’s statement noted that electronic and software safeguards failed, leading to the disconnection of a high-voltage line and the subsequent grid shutdown. General Manager Luis Llano added: "Interchile’s team is in constant coordination with the technical authority and will keep working tirelessly to proceed with the necessary investigations."
By Wednesday, the state of emergency and curfew, which began at 10 p.m. on Tuesday, were lifted. Toha reported that approximately 220,000 customers, primarily in northern areas, remained without power, a significant reduction from the 8 million households affected at the outage’s height.
Major copper mines also started resuming operations on Wednesday. Escondida, the world’s largest copper mine, managed by BHP, is expected to return to normal within hours, according to a source familiar with the matter. Anglo American confirmed that its Los Bronces and El Soldado mines, along with the Chagres smelter in central Chile, were steadily restoring activities. Codelco, the globe’s top copper producer, stated: "All our divisions were affected by the power outage so contingency and backup plans were immediately activated." The company noted that the effect on its production schedule is still being assessed, with recovery efforts being a primary focus for its teams. Similarly, Antofagasta reported that its operations were back underway.
The swift response from power firms and mining companies reflects efforts to stabilize both the electrical grid and copper output, vital to Chile’s economy and global supply chains. Investigations into the outage’s cause continue, with a focus on ensuring such disruptions are avoided in the future.
