Cuba faces its fourth nationwide blackout in six months, leaving millions without electricity for over 24 hours. Efforts to restore power have been slow, with residents expressing frustration and despair. The outages, stemming from a malfunctioning substation, highlight the country’s aging electrical infrastructure amid an ongoing economic crisis. The government plans to implement solar parks to alleviate the situation, aiming to generate 1,200 megawatts by 2025 to improve the national energy supply.
Nationwide Blackout Strikes Cuba Again
As the sun set on Saturday, millions of Cubans braced themselves for a second night devoid of electricity, following a nationwide blackout that marked the fourth such incident in less than six months. The nation was grappling with a significant disruption to its electrical system, which had been offline for over 24 hours.
Challenges in Restoring Power
Throughout the day, officials were engaged in efforts to restore the national electrical grid, but they conceded that progress was frustratingly slow. According to state media Granma, “The restoration of electricity is not happening as quickly as experts had hoped. Nevertheless, work continues to restore power as soon as possible.”
The overwhelming majority of the 9.7 million citizens were preparing for yet another night in darkness, many resigned to the reality of enduring their fourth nationwide blackout since October. Daymi Echenique, a 26-year-old resident of Consolacion del Sur in Pinar del Rio province, expressed her frustration, stating, “It has been 24 hours without electricity, and there’s no sign of it coming back soon. Some areas had brief power, but we haven’t been so lucky.”
In the capital, Havana, Rubén Borroto, a 69-year-old resident, found himself stuck on the seventh floor of his building without access to an elevator or water, both paralyzed by the outage. He shared his feelings of despair: “I feel trapped and upset. The worst part is the uncertainty of when the power will return. Previous outages were resolved much quicker.”
Throughout the last quarter of 2024, the island had already endured three significant blackouts, with two lasting several days and the most recent one about 24 hours. In parts of Havana, where daily life has been disrupted, residents have resorted to cooking over wood fires, as reported by AFP.
On Saturday morning, authorities mentioned that parallel circuits had been established in various provinces to provide power to essential services and nearby neighborhoods. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel announced on social media, “Several provinces have these parallel circuits, and generation units are beginning to synchronize with the national grid.”
However, in major cities like Havana and Santiago de Cuba, the circuits failed to maintain power, as acknowledged by officials. Carlos, a 72-year-old resident of Santiago de Cuba, recounted, “Electricity was restored around 3 PM, but it was cut off again just two hours later.”
The blackout initiated early Friday evening when a substation in the outskirts of Havana malfunctioned, causing a nationwide disconnection. This incident was the first widespread power outage of 2024, despite the fact that residents have been facing intermittent outages lasting four to five hours in the capital and over 20 hours in the provinces for months.
Xiomara Castellanos, an 82-year-old in Havana’s Vedado neighborhood, expressed her concerns, saying, “God help us, this country is going from bad to worse! I’m worried about the little food I have left in my refrigerator and how long it will last without power.”
Cuba has been grappling with a severe economic crisis for the past five years, and its aging electrical infrastructure is plagued by frequent breakdowns and fuel shortages. The eight power plants across the country, most of which date back to the 1980s and 1990s, are prone to regular failures and require lengthy maintenance periods.
To address this ongoing crisis, the government is ramping up efforts to establish at least 55 solar parks utilizing Chinese technology by 2025. Officials estimate that these solar facilities will generate 1,200 megawatts, contributing to approximately 12% of the national energy supply.