On February 25, 2025, Chile's government reacted to a widespread blackout by implementing a curfew and declaring a state of emergency. The power outage, which took place in the afternoon, left eight million households without electricity, severely affecting regions from the northern port city of Arica to the southern Los Lagos. Santiago, the capital, experienced significant disruptions as traffic lights failed, public transport halted, and many found themselves trapped in elevators.

In response to the emergency, officials imposed a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. for the affected areas, announcing that schools would be closed the following day, affecting around 300,000 students. President Gabriel Boric addressed the nation late Tuesday, acknowledging the challenges faced by millions and describing the circumstances as “difficult” for the population.

By the end of the day, power had been reinstated for approximately four million households. However, Boric cautioned that the recovery remained slow and unstable, stating, “This is outrageous,” as he assigned blame to the power companies for their failure to prevent the outage and expedite restoration. The blackout was attributed to a failure in the transmission system.

To maintain order, soldiers and national police were deployed to assist in the affected regions, while helicopters patrolled the skies over Santiago. Emergency services, along with hospitals, prisons, and airports throughout the nation, managed to operate on backup power systems while efforts to restore full electricity continued.