Americas

Some 20 Million People Left Without Electricity in Argentina After Fire Sparks on Power Lines

BUENOS AIRES (Sputnik) - Some 20 million people — about 40% of consumers across the country — were left without electricity in several provinces of Argentina due to a fire on power supply lines, it was reported on Wednesday.
Sputnik
Local media reports have indicated outages were reported across large parts of the metropolitan region and in several provinces, such as Cordoba, San Juan, San Luis, Santa Fe and in Mendoza.
Additionally, operations were temporarily shuttered at the Atucha I Nuclear Power Plant as a precaution - not as a direct result of the power outage affecting the country, officials confirmed.
Atucha II Nuclear Power Plant
Santiago Yanotti, the Argentine undersecretary for the electricity sector, said in a televised appearance on the TN broadcaster that the power supply to consumers would be restored over a period of just a few hours.
Citing sources familiar with the development, US media reported earlier that the outage brought some 10,000 megawatts offline.
According to local media, the fire was caused by the heat that has been raging in Argentina for several days. The temperature in many of Argentina's regions approached 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
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