[1] The blackout was caused by a failure of a 500 kV transformer at a substation in southern Chile that is part of the Central Interconnected System (SIC).
[2][3] The blackout interrupted a music concert being held to raise funds for the survivors of the earthquake that had devastated the country two weeks earlier.
[7][8] President Sebastián Piñera blamed the power failure on the recent earthquake and said the SIC would remain unstable for a week.
Further charges were also laid for issues at the Alto Jahuel high voltage electrical substation, located south of Santiago, which led to undue delays in recovery of the Metropolitan Region.
The Superintendent of the SEC, Patricia Chotzen, said that "after the technical analysis of the background, as part of a complex investigation, we decided to press charges against the companies involved whom have not made the necessary arrangements, referred to in our regulations."