Cuba struggles to restart power after second grid collapse
October 19, 2024
Officials in Cuba said Saturday that work was continuing to restore power across the island after two nationwide blackouts in 24 hours.
About half of Cuba was plunged into darkness on Thursday evening, followed by a power cut affecting the entire island the following morning. The electricity supply failed again across the country at 6:15 a.m. local time (1015 GMT/UTC) on Saturday, according to state media.
Amid one of its worst economic crises, Cuba has struggled with worsening power cuts for several weeks, blamed on deteriorating infrastructure, fuel shortages and rising demand.
President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the 60-year-old trade embargo by the United States had exacerbated the blackouts, causing difficulties in acquiring fuel for power stations.
What's the latest on the blackouts?
The country's top electricity official, Lazaro Guerra, said the grid operator was working to restart several power plants, slowly allowing electricity to return to large parts of the country.
"I cannot assure you that we will be able to complete linking the system today, but we are estimating that there should be important progress today," Guerra said on a TV newscast.
Guerra said the power grid collapsed due to the unexpected shutdown of the Antonio Guiteras power plant, the biggest of the island's eight aging coal-fired power plants.
Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy said the country had 500 megawatts in its electrical grid early Saturday, as compared to 3 gigawatts that are normally generated.
O Levy wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that "several substations in the west now have electricity."
He also said two thermoelectric power plants are back and two more will resume operations "in the next few hours."
However, most of Cuba's 10 million population remained without electricity on Saturday afternoon.
The streets of the capital, Havana — where 2 million people live —were quiet, with few cars on the road.
Authorities said hospitals and other essential services, which are powered by generators, would remain operational.
How quickly will regular power be restored?
Officials have said that even if the immediate grid collapse is resolved, the country's electricity crisis will continue.
Cuba produces little crude oil itself, and fuel deliveries to the island have dropped significantly this year, as suppliers Venezuela, Russia and Mexico have cut exports.
To bolster its grid, seven floating power plants have been leased from Turkish companies, alongside several small diesel-powered generators.
The government also announced emergency measures to slash electricity demand, including shutting schools, some workplaces and nonessential services.
Cuba experienced a similar blackout in September 2022 following the category 3 Hurricane Ian, which damaged power stations and took days to fix.
When the electricity took several days to be restored, public anger turned into street protests that left one person dead and injured several.
mm/rm (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)