Why does the electricity go out when there are strong winds?

He front system What happened in the last few hours had multiple effects in the south-central area of ​​the country and one of the most notable was the power cuts. light caused by intense gusts of wind and it rains.

The service disruption first affected southern regions. According to reports from Superintendence of Electricity and Fuels (SEC) As of the afternoon of Thursday, August 1, more than 600,000 customers were without electricity, which was recorded from the Maule region to Los Lagos.

As the hours passed, massive power outages also began to occur in the capital. According to the SEC, this Friday at 10:55 a.m., more than 724,000 customers in the Metropolitan Region remain without electricity in their homes, with the most affected municipalities being Maipú, Las Condes, Pudahuel and Colina.

But why does this phenomenon occur every time there are gusts of wind?

In Chile, much of the electrical wiring is overhead. The system is more exposed to failures when wind gusts occur, because these They can cause the wiring to come into closer contact with tree branches, other nearby wires, or even roofs and other objects that have been knocked over.

The presence of wind also increases the risk of trees falling directly onto power lines, causing massive power outages.

In May of this year, when another frontal system was registered in the country, Enel CEO Víctor Tavera maintained that the electricity supply “is 80% aerial.”

“When these events of wind, snow and significant rain occur, many trees and branch hooks fall on the overhead lines and therefore this type of damage occurs” Tavera said.

Julio Nazar, professor-researcher at the Faculty of Architecture and Art of the UDD, explained to The fourth that the above “speaks directly to a problem of the level of urbanization with which we have emerged and has allowed a certain type of public infrastructure, not to say critical, to have been consolidated in the city.”

Although it is difficult to prevent winds and rains from having any impact on the electricity supply, given that most of the transmission is by air, there are some solutions that can be useful to reduce the chances.

One is to clear trees near cables, especially as the cold season approaches, so that branches are less likely to come into direct contact with the lines and cause service interruptions.

Another point to consider is the underground electric roads which have existed for several years in certain sectors of Santiago, Providencia, Lo Barnechea and Las Condes, and which can precisely help to avoid power cuts due to gusts of wind.

Rosa Serrano, director of studies and regulation for the Association of Electric Companies, told Emol in 2017 that it was an “excellent solution.” However, in terms of financing, it is a bit complex to do in the country.

“It is an excellent alternative to minimize supply interruptions because the networks are not exposed, it also has other advantages because maintenance is lower, the problem is the cost and depending on the area you want to bury, there can be several, but on average it is about 10 times the cost of an airline,” said Serrano.

On the morning of this Friday, the National Service for Disaster Prevention and Response (Senapred) decided to declare Yellow alert for the entire Metropolitan Region as part of the frontal system presented in recent hours. The measure will be in effect from today and “until conditions justify it.”

The entity clarified that throughout this day, intense winds and moderate to heavy precipitation will continue in a short period of time.

According to the weather warning issued by the Chilean Meteorological Directorate (DMC), winds are expected to blow between 60 and 70 km/h with gusts of up to 90 km/h in the foothills and in the valley.

While the regional director of Senapred, Miguel Muñoz, assured that initially these winds “were not expected in the valley” and that for this reason the alarm was given on Thursday night.

The frontal system is expected to gradually deteriorate during the day, which could also extend into Saturday morning.

“The precipitation will be much less intense and the wind component will also decrease, so little by little, progressively, the region will return to normal” he commented.

Muñoz also spoke about the power outages in the RM, assuring that the service will not be immediately restored to homes, due to the large number of critical points identified.

“So they have to proceed step by step, raising each of the affected areas. The call to the community is to pay attention to what the authority says, it is important,” said the director of Senapred.