Argentina fines power companies for outage
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina is fining its electricity distribution companies for a power outage that hit most of Argentina's capital last week.
The blackout on Nov. 7 caused severe traffic jams during rush hour, affected more than 800,000 homes and paralyzed the subway system.
Officials say power distributors Edenor and Edesur must pay nearly $33 million in fines and compensation to customers for the outage.
Planning Minister Julio De Vido says the blackout was not caused by a failure in two high voltage lines, as Edesur said at first and that authorities will determine the real cause.
Electricity resumed in most of the city within two hours, but some neighborhoods remained in the dark hours later. The outage came after days of extreme heat that caused record-high demand for electricity.
