The subway goes dark during a power outage in Argentina
Much of Argentina, including the Buenos Aires (Amba) metropolitan area, was no power in the afternoon of this Wednesday (1st) when the Atucha I nuclear power plant had problems. The blackout happened around 4 p.m. (local time) during a heat wave and hit 20 million people.
According to the newspaper La Nación, around 40% of the country’s total electricity needs have gone unmet meaning more than 6 million households out of a total of 15.8 million are without electricity.
Several neighborhoods in the capital, Buenos Aires, were left without power, disrupting operations on major subway lines and commuter trains. Several areas of the provinces of Cordoba, Mendoza, San Luis, Entre Ríos and Santa Fe also remained in the dark.
The water distribution system was also affected.
1 in 4 passengers exit a subway station in Buenos Aires during a power outage in Argentina on March 1, 2023 — Photo: Reproduction / Portal Passengers exit a subway station in Buenos Aires during a power outage in Argentina on March 1, 2023 — Photo: Playback/ Portal
What is known about the blackout
Authorities claim the blackout was due to a Fire in grazing areas near the transmission line between the cities of Campana and General Rodríguez. The incident triggered several other recorded outages in the country’s interconnected electrical system.
2 of 4 Fire hits highvoltage power lines, causing power outage in Argentina on March 1, 2023 — Photo: Argentine Secretariat of Energy via Portal Fire hits highvoltage lines, causing power outage in Argentina on March 1, 2023 — Photo: Argentine Energy Secretariat via Portal
“The causes of the original outages in the interconnected system are being investigated by the Department of Energy. Work is being done quickly to resolve this issue,” the utilities said in a statement.
Cammesa, the company responsible for Argentina’s electrical system, said in a statement that the thermometer read 35C at the time of the disruption and the system’s required power was 26,570MW.
According to Transener SA, the company responsible for the energy distribution, the heat leads to an increase in electricity demand.
3 of 4 The monitoring system of Cammesa, the company in charge of Argentina’s electricity sector, shows the decline in power distribution during the power outage on March 1, 2023 — Photo: Cammesa/Reproduction The monitoring system of Cammesa, the company in charge of Argentina’s electricity sector, shows the Decline in power distribution during the March 1, 2023 blackout — Photo: Cammesa/Reproduction
“The disruption created oscillations in the system with the consequent restriction of demand,” Transener SA said in a statement. The Atucha I nuclear power plant was shut down as a precaution.
Santiago Yanotti, undersecretary of state for electrical energy, told broadcaster Todo Notícias that they hope “to have the service restored in a few hours”.
Some regions of the country, such as part of Buenos Aires and the provinces of Rio Negro and Neuquén, reported intermittent power returns around 6:30 p.m., according to local press.
4 of 4 Aerial view showing the Atucha nuclear complex in Argentina — Photo: Reproduction/Portal Aerial view showing the Atucha nuclear complex in Argentina — Photo: Reproduction/Portal