Argentina power line fire sparks huge blackout amid heat wave

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) -Large swathes of Argentina were left without power on Wednesday afternoon after blackouts in the national grid due to a fire, officials said, as the country endures a major heat wave that has increased demand for energy.

Parts of the capital Buenos Aires, and the central regions of Santa Fe, Neuquen, Cordoba and Mendoza, have experienced blackouts, according to a statement from the Energy secretariat.

The failure put 10,000 megawatts offline, a source at an energy company told Reuters. A source for the secretariat added that the supply was slowly resuming.

The country’s economy ministry has requested an investigation into how the fire was started.

Several blackouts have occurred in the country since January amid high electricity demand.

(Reporting by Eliana Raszewski; Writing by Carolina Pulice; Editing by Sandra Maler and Aurora Ellis)