Power surge from Costa Rica leaves most of Nicaragua in the dark

A power surge from Costa Rica through a Central American electrical grid left almost all of Nicaragua in the dark for almost an hour Tuesday night, said Ernesto Tiffer, head of Nicaragua’s National Electricity Company.

“The overload from Costa Rica disrupted almost every electric power plant in Nicaragua,” confirmed Tiffer, without giving any other details, to pro-government radio station Radio Ya.

The blackout affected 13 of the 15 Nicaraguan departments, and was restored  at 10 p.m. local time.

Tiffer said only the departments of Chinandega and part of León (in the northwest) were not affected by the regional power surge.