Huge power outage in Cuba leaves millions in darkness
According to officials from operator Union Electrica (UNE), a breakdown at the Diezmero substation in the capital’s capital, Havana, on Friday evening, at around 8:15 PM (00:15 GMT) caused a chain reaction that shut down power generation across the island.
About 225 MW, or less than 10% of total demand, were being produced by UNE at sunrise on Saturday. According to officials, parallel circuits were supplying electricity to important industries like hospitals.
According to Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, “many provinces have parallel circuits and generator units are starting to be synchronized” with the national grid.
In the final months of 2024, the island’s 9.7 million inhabitants had already experienced three nationwide blackouts, two of which lasted for several days.
The island is currently facing one of its biggest economic crises in 30 years, despite the first of which this year. Cuba, which has long relied on government subsidies from Venezuela, is increasingly dependent on that country’s dependence as Caracas struggles with its own economic issues.
No one knows when the power will turn back on, resident Abel Bonne said early on Saturday morning on Havana’s Malecon waterfront boulevard.
People in Havana have already experienced nearly daily power outages lasting four or five hours, while those away from the capital have experienced continuous blackouts that have reached their highest levels in recent weeks.
We’re in for a dark weekend, Karen Gutierrez, a 32-year-old Havana ice cream seller, told the AFP news agency.
Andres Lopez, a 67-year-old resident of Holguin in the eastern province, stated that he had not anticipated another blackout so soon.
He claimed, “I really find it irritable.” Let’s see when they turn the power back on, they say.
A US trade embargo, a complex system of laws and regulations that make it difficult to make financial decisions and buy essentials like fuel and spare parts, is what causes Cuba’s economic woes.
Donald Trump, the president of the United States, pledged to restore a “tough” policy to the island’s communist-run government and recently imposed more severe sanctions on it.
Cuba is rushing to install at least 55 solar farms using Chinese technology by the end of the year to make up for its lack of electricity.
Source: Aljazeera
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