A large number of electricity users across the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA) lost power following a major grid failure on Saturday night, according to official statements from utility provider Edenor. The blackout, which began at 9:00 p.m., traced back to a tripped 220-kilovolt circuit breaker at the Malaver substation located in the partido of San Martín, Edenor confirmed Sunday.
Timeline of the AMBA Blackout and Peak Impact
The sudden power outage disrupted Saturday evening activities across a broad swathe of the capital and surrounding municipalities. According to data from the National Electricity Regulatory Entity (ENRE), the disruption peaked at 9:45 p.m., leaving Edenor customers and Edesur customers in the dark.
Service restoration proceeded relatively quickly once technicians isolated the fault. Edenor reported that power was normalized for almost all affected users before 11:00 p.m. that same night. However, the overlap in concession areas triggered immediate confusion regarding corporate accountability as the grid failure rippled across neighboring districts.
Distribution of Affected Neighborhoods Across Edenor and Edesur Zones
The physical breakdown occurred entirely within Edenor’s infrastructure, yet the electrical cascade crossed company boundaries. Edesur issued a statement at 9:30 p.m. Saturday to clarify that the incident originated from a system failure entirely outside its corporate control, even though customers within its service footprint also lost electricity.
Within Edenor’s coverage zone, the blackout hit the northern corridor of the City of Buenos Aires hard, including:
- Belgrano
- Colegiales
- Villa del Parque
- Palermo
- Recoleta
- Villa Crespo
- Villa Urquiza
- Saavedra
The outage also extended into northern Greater Buenos Aires municipalities, specifically impacting Munro and Vicente López. Power returned first to Núñez, Belgrano, and Recoleta.
Meanwhile, Edesur clients experiencing outages were primarily concentrated in:
- La Paternal
- Flores
- Floresta
- Villa del Parque
- Vélez Sarsfield
- Caballito
- Villa Santa Rita
Infrastructure Pressures and Tariff Increases
This weekend incident refocuses public scrutiny on the underlying stability of the AMBA electrical grid. Consumer frustration remains acute as massive service failures persist despite electricity tariffs accumulating cumulative increases exceeding 300% since December 2023. While Edenor identified the Malaver substation switch as the root cause, company officials acknowledged that technical inquiries remain ongoing to determine why the equipment failed.
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