The Chilean government has issued an ultimatum to the Italian energy giant Enel, the main electricity distributor in the country’s capital, to restore power supply.
The outages, which began a week ago, are still affecting nearly 8,000 customers.
Threat of Concession Cancellation
The government is threatening to revoke the concession granted to Enel in Santiago, home to 9 of Chile’s nearly 20 million inhabitants.
“We told them yesterday: they must reconnect 20,000 customers. 12,000 have been reconnected and they have until 11:59 PM (Thursday) to reconnect the rest,” Chilean Energy Minister Diego Pardow told reporters on Thursday.
Repeated Violations of Restoration Plans
“This is the third restoration plan, and I want to be clear: it’s a plan that violates regulatory standards. It is not responsible towards citizens to allow a third plan to be violated again,” the minister added.
Presidential Intervention
President Gabriel Boric announced on Wednesday that he had requested a review of Enel’s concession due to the power outages that occurred after the unusual front of rain and wind that hit Santiago and other regions of Chile on Thursday, August 1st.
“I have asked our Minister of Energy to evaluate not only all existing sanction options, some already underway, but also to review the concession of the company Enel,” Boric said at the time.
Diplomatic Efforts
Chilean Foreign Minister Alberto van Klaveren wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) account that, at Boric’s request, he had asked his ambassador in Rome to contact Enel’s representatives in Italy.
The chancellor reported that the Chilean ambassador was contacted by the diplomatic advisor to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, “who expressed the Italian government’s concern and its willingness to help Enel meet its commitments in our country.”
Extent of the Power Outages
On August 2nd, Enel reported a peak of 794,000 customers without power in Santiago, mainly affected by fallen trees on power lines.
The Italian company supplies electricity to two million customers in the capital, where it operates as a “regulated monopoly.”
Public Outcry and Protests
The numerous power outages have triggered protests in several neighborhoods of the Chilean capital, where residents have even erected barricades.
The government has also filed a complaint against the Chinese distribution company CGE for delays in restoring electricity.