In Havana, the Cuban regime announced that some electricity has been restored on the island after a major power plant failure left millions without power for two days.
Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy stated that the country had 500 megawatts in its electrical grid early Saturday, compared to the usual 3 gigawatts generated. He mentioned on X that “several substations in the west now have electricity.”
O Levy also mentioned that two thermoelectric power plants are back online, with two more expected to resume operations “in the next few hours.”
Half of Cuba experienced a blackout on Thursday evening, followed by the entire island on Friday morning after the plant failure.
Havana’s electricity company reported that a part of its western system was disconnected “after the exit of one of the plants that was delivering service,” causing some parts of the city to be in the dark once again.
The streets of Cuba’s capital were quiet on Saturday, with minimal traffic after a night illuminated by candles and lamps. The impact of the blackout extends beyond lighting, affecting services like water supply that rely on electricity to operate pumps.
This blackout is considered Cuba’s worst in two years, following a category 3 hurricane that damaged power installations. This year, the electricity service deteriorated further, leaving several homes without power for hours daily.
In addition to the Antonio Guiteras plant, Cuba has several other power plants, though it’s unclear if they are still operational.
There is no official timeline for when the blackout will be resolved. Even in a country accustomed to outages due to economic challenges, Friday’s collapse was significant.
The Cuban regime has implemented emergency measures to reduce electricity demand, such as suspending classes, closing state-owned workplaces, and canceling nonessential services. Officials reported that 1.64 gigawatts were offline during peak hours, approximately half of the total demand at the time.
Local authorities attributed the outage to increased demand from small and medium-sized businesses and residential air conditioners. The situation worsened due to malfunctions in aging thermoelectric plants that were not properly maintained and a lack of fuel for operation.
Adjustments to electricity rates for small- and medium-sized businesses, authorized by the regime in 2021, are also being considered.
By Andrea Rodriguez
