Cuba is starting to restore electricity after the country’s power grid collapsed
Cuba began restoring electricity on Sunday after the national grid collapsed the previous day, cutting off electricity millions of people. The power outage was the third this month.
About 72,000 customers in the capital, including five hospitals, had electricity again early Sunday, according to a report from the Electric Union and the Ministry of Energy and Mines, but only a fraction of Havana’s total population of nearly two million.
In Havana and provinces such as Western Matanzas and eastern Holguin, local energy microsystems were set up to supply the most important institutions. Residents in other parts of the capital told the Associated Press that power was restored in the early hours of the morning.
Cuba is currently facing an unprecedented power crisis. Its aging grid has eroded significantly in recent years, but the government has also blamed the blackout on the US electricity grid, after President Trump in January. you have been warned about tariffs to any country that sells or supplies oil to Cuba. His administration demands that Cuba release political prisoners and move toward political and economic freedom in order to end the embargo. Mr. Trump also hinted at the possibility of a “friendly takeover of Cuba.”
Protests were reported in Cuba last week as frustration grew over prolonged power outages and worsening living conditions across the island, CBS Miami report.
Another reason why Cuba is facing a shortage of oil is the removal of the US Former Venezuelan president Nicolas Madurowhich halted critical petroleum shipments from a nation that became a staunch ally of Havana.
President Miguel Díaz-Canel said that the island has not received oil from foreign suppliers for three months. Cuba produces less than 40% of the fuel it needs to develop its economy.
Daily blackouts have a huge impact on people, whose lives are disrupted by reduced working hours, lack of electricity for cooking and damage to household goods, among many other consequences.
“Because of the blackout and the low electricity, my refrigerator broke – that was today. The day before yesterday, the electricity also went down around 10 p.m.,” Suleydi Crespo, a 33-year-old woman with two young children, told AP on Saturday. “If there is no electricity tomorrow, we will not be able to get water.”
Residents also expressed their tiredness due to constant disruptions, whether in the whole country or part of it.
The Cuban Electric Union, which reports to the Ministry of Energy and Mines, reported that the complete shutdown of the national energy system was caused by the unexpected shutdown of the production unit at the thermoelectric plant of Nuevitas in the province of Camaguey, without giving details on the specific cause of the failure.
The last blackout happened on Monday. It took a few days to restore power.
Saturday’s shutdown was the second in the past week and the third in March.
“We have to get used to continuing our normal routine. What else can we do? We have to try to survive. Get used to events, with or without electricity,” said Dagnay Alarcón, a 35-year-old seller.
The authorities and Díaz-Canel himself have acknowledged the seriousness of the current power situation. Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines Argelio Abad Vigo explained this week that the country has been without diesel, fuel oil, gasoline, aviation fuel or liquid petroleum gas for three months – all of which are essential for the economy and for generating electricity.
Car fuel sales are limited, airlines have grounded flights or reduced frequencies and many workplaces have reduced hours.
Mr. Trump has been suggesting for months that the Cuban government is about to fall. After the Cuban power grid collapses, Mr. Trump told reporters that he believes he will soon “have the right to take over Cuba.”
María Regla Cardoso, a housewife in Havana, said she is not interested in politics and Cubans should get on with life.
“I leave everything in God’s hands. Whatever the situation is, we must face it.”
