The historic power outage left the country without light for several hours

A cup of which there is no antecedent in this century yesterday, left to almost the whole country without electricity. He also touched part of Uruguay and some bordering areas of Brazil.

Until last night, the national government had ignored the cause that had caused the interruption of the Argentine interconnection system (Sadi), the mega-power grid that unites the entire territory, with the exception of Tierra del Fuego.

The event left at least 45 million people without electricity; in some cases for a few hours; in others, more than 12, due to complications related to the reintegration of the system, which must be done gradually so that it is no longer affected.

The fall occurred when, in four provinces (Santa Fe, San Luis, Formosa and Tierra del Fuego), they were about to open polling stations to elect governors. However, the cut has not generated major complications in normal development.

Yesterday at noon, the government announced that it had reconnected half of the country and, at age 18, explained that it had grown by 87%. At the end of this edition, there were still areas, particularly in the south, where the energy service had not been restored.

In Córdoba, with the exception of specific areas, he returned in the afternoon. Until the system stabilizes, Epec announced its decision to disconnect from the Sadi and work with the energy generated by its own power plants.

"We do not rule out any hypothesis," said Gustavo Lopetegui, state secretary for Energy, at a press conference. The official explained that they were investigating "a destabilization occurred in the system at a time when a lot of energy was coming from the Litoral". And he said that "to avoid further damage, automatisms have generated disconnection".

Carlos García Pereyra, CEO of Transener, the company that maintains the high-voltage transmission grid, acknowledged that the causes were unknown. "If we knew it, we would solve it already," he said. "It was a simple defect, which can happen days like today (for yesterday), a moisture problem, and even in excellent weather conditions," added the manager.

It is precisely this situation of normality in which the failure has occurred that disconcerts the experts.

Raúl Olocco, former Secretary of State for National Energy, remarked to La Voz that "since there is no tower destroyed, nor wire cut, nor d & # 39; 39, which has affected the line that carries the energy of Yacyretá to Buenos Aires, this could be due to a problem in the headquarters that the Sadi manages. "Olocco understands that" there could have been a system failure or some of the protections would have failed ".

Lopetegui and García Pereyra said that in 10 days, the causes of the "cascade effect" and the generalized disconnection of the whole system would be known. They also ruled out the possibility that it was a computer hooliganism or an attack.

The government and the energy specialists exclude a failure of the production systems (hydroelectric, thermal or nuclear power stations) or a problem encountered in the distribution networks (Epec in Córdoba or Edenor and Edesur in Buenos Aires and Caba) .

For this reason, the responsibilities would be transport (high-voltage lines managed by the private company Transener) or the network management system, which is managed by Cammesa, a joint-venture company of the national government and representatives of the private sector.

Córdoba

Throughout the country, the cut had disadvantages, especially in places where it lasted several hours.

Vanesa Ruiz, general manager of the Warehouse Center, said that the biggest complication of the merchants was the impossibility of using electronic collection means. "Just one day we were expecting big sales for Father's Day celebrations," he lamented. The situation was not serious when it came to preserving food because "it helped the temperature," Ruiz said of the low temperatures recorded yesterday.

A very affected area was service stations, many of which stopped selling fuel until energy returned. The problem has had an impact, especially among those who sell CNG, who need electrical energy for compressors.

Due to the lack of traffic lights, there were many road accidents.

The operation of shopping centers has also been affected. "At seven in the morning, we contacted Epec and told us that the problem would be maintained for hours, then we decided not to open because we did not have a generator big enough to provide the locals all day long, not enough fuel, but also for safety, "said Gustavo Molinero, head of Patio Olmos operations.

The mall kept the energy needed to keep refrigerators and the central office. It only opened at 5:30 pm, once the energy service was restored. Despite this, many residents decided not to attend. "Although we do not have the number, there are economic losses," Miller said.

The Nuevocentro shopping center opened its doors and at noon there was a strong demand in the food court because many restaurants were closed in the center.

Alejandro Moroni, secretary of the Association of Hotels and Gastronomy of Córdoba, said the power outage was directly affecting the restaurants, because "very few of them have generators".

"This had an impact first and foremost on food preservation and care.Although it was not a long weekend of strong tourist attraction, many locals could not open," he explained. In addition, he said that although the number of reservations for Father's Day was lower than in previous years due to the crisis, the situation had affected the local population. "Many people, when they learned the morning of the blackout, decided not to go out to eat," he concluded.

From the province, they indicated that the operation of the hospitals was normal thanks to the diesel distribution for the generators. Mario Hornik, a member of the Chamber of Health Associations, said The voice"Almost all clinics have generators because we are used to making cuts".

Today, the whole system would be restored

L & # 39; fall The break occurred at 7:07 am Sunday morning. The Argentinean interconnection system (Sadi) has completely disappeared, which transports power from power plants (hydro, thermal, nuclear, wind and solar) to distribution companies. There is no trace of anything like it during the last century.

Impact. At least 45 million people have been affected: Caba and all provinces except Tierra del Fuego. Also part of Uruguay and areas of southern Brazil, which have points of contact with the network.

duration In the Litoral and Buenos Aires, the cut took about two hours. more than four in the north and more than ten in the central provinces. A longer delay was expected in the south.

neighborhoods In Córdoba, last night, there were neighborhoods without light. For example, Lamadrid, Las Palmas Annex, Las Palmas, Uritorco, part of Alberdi, Villa Siburu, Villa Retiro, Villa Gran Parque, Liceo Park and in the Paseo Sobremonte area, in the center of the city.

Contributed by this story: Virginia Digón