BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – An explosion in a generating substation of the Edesur company left over 60,000 users in the strategic Caballito neighborhood of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (CABA) without electricity for several hours on Saturday. As a result, some 30,406 households were still without power as of Sunday, according to the National Entity Regulating Electricity (Ente Nacional Regulador de la Electricidad – ENRE). The company reported that service has since been restored to 80% of the affected users.
The incident, believed to have been caused by a malfunction in an oil filtering machine, impacted customers in the Caballito, Parque Chacabuco, and Almagro communes. Firefighters spent over six hours on Saturday night working to control the flames, which led to the evacuation of several adjacent buildings. Fortunately, no fatalities were reported, but some individuals required medical assistance for smoke-related suffocation.
The power outage also affected the Water and Sanitation Argentina (Agua y Saneamientos Argentina – AySA) pumping plant, leaving many homes without drinking water. Meanwhile, Edesur stated that its emergency operating plan was activated immediately following the incident and that efforts are underway to determine the cause of the fire.
As cleanup and repair work continues, the ENRE has announced that it will conduct an investigation to determine the causes of the explosion. At the same time, AySA has implemented a contingency plan for the affected areas to ensure access to water until power is fully restored. Edesur also mentioned that it is working closely with the City Government and the Energy Secretariat to address the situation and minimize the impact on customers.
In response to the incident, pot-banging protests were organized in many streets in Caballito during the weekend, reflecting the frustration and concern of the affected residents. The community is hopeful that the restoration efforts will proceed swiftly to bring back normalcy after the disruptive event.