Cuba restores power to one-fifth of population after nationwide blackouts
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The government has blamed worsening blackouts on deteriorating infrastructure, fuel shortages and rising demand.
PHOTO: REUTERS
HAVANA - Cuba’s government said late on Oct 19 it had restored power to nearly one-fifth of the island’s people after the national grid collapsed twice in 24 hours, plunging millions of people into darkness.
The unprecedented nationwide blackout is the latest blow to the nation of 10 million already suffering from dramatic shortages of food, medicine and fuel.
Cuba’s top electricity official Lazaro Guerra said the grid operator was working to restore electricity, but that the process would be slow and rushing the job could lead to more blackouts and a deterioration of service.
“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,” Mr Guerra said on a TV newscast earlier on Oct 19.
The capital Havana was still largely in the dark during the evening of Oct 19. Strong winds and rain began to buffet much of the Caribbean island ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Oscar, which was expected to graze north-eastern Cuba in the coming days.
The hurricane will cap a dramatic series of events in Cuba over several days that raised tensions among the island’s already exhausted residents.
Cuba’s electrical grid first failed around midday on Oct 18 after one of the island’s largest power plants shut down. The grid collapsed again during the morning of Oct 19, state-run media reported.
Even before the two grid failures, a dire electricity shortfall on Oct 18 had forced the Cuban government to send non-essential state workers home and cancel school for children as it sought to conserve fuel for power generation.
The government has blamed weeks of worsening blackouts – as long as 10 to 20 hours a day across much of the island – on deteriorating infrastructure, fuel shortages and rising demand.
Strong winds that began with Hurricane Milton around Oct 9 had also complicated Cuba’s ability to deliver scarce fuel from boats offshore to feed its power plants, officials have said.
A woman walks on a street after buying bread as state-run media earlier on Saturday reported the national grid had collapsed for a second time in 24 hours, in Havana, Cuba, on Oct 19.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Cuba also blames a trade embargo by the US, as well as sanctions instituted by then President Donald Trump, for ongoing difficulties in acquiring fuel and spare parts to operate and maintain its oil-fired plants.
“There are those who sing victory and join the ambition of seeing Cuba on its knees with the interruption of the electrical system,” said Vice-Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio on social media platform X on Oct 19.
“They support the ruthless US aggression,” he posted. “We respond with the talent and commitment of our (grid) workers and executives.”
Fuel woes
People stand on the balconies of their homes after state-run media earlier on Saturday reported the national grid had collapsed for a second time in 24 hours, in Havana, Cuba, on Oct 19.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The US on Oct 18 denied any role in Cuba’s grid collapse.
“As we have seen over the past few years, Cuba’s economic conditions, stemming from long-term mismanagement of its economic policy and resources, have increased hardships on the Cuban people,” a State Department official said.
“The United States obviously is not to blame for today’s blackout on the island, or the overall energy situation in Cuba.”
Cuban officials have said that even if the immediate grid collapse is resolved, the electricity crisis will continue.
Cuba produces little of its own crude oil, and fuel deliveries to the island have plunged in 2024, as Venezuela, Russia and Mexico, once important suppliers, have reduced their exports to Cuba. Ally Venezuela slashed by half its deliveries of subsidised fuel to Cuba in 2024, forcing the island to search for more costly oil on the spot market.
People walk in the street at night as Cuba is hit by an island-wide blackout, in Havana, Cuba, on Oct 18.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Some Cubans, accustomed to hardship, said they were coping.
Mr Rene Duarte, 60, strolled through Old Havana during the morning on Oct 19 to get fresh air, he said, after a night of little sleep, a result of the muggy weather.
“We’re used to taking everything in stride, because we have no other choice,” he said.
Later on Oct 19, Havana remained largely quiet. Reuters observed a small group of people banging pots and blockading a road in Marianao on the outskirts of the capital. The protesters scattered when police arrived.
Following Hurricane Ian in September 2022, Cuba’s grid collapsed, leaving the entire country without power for several days. The authorities eventually re-established service, but not before protests broke out in various cities, including Havana. REUTERS
