For 3rd Time In 2 Weeks, Cuba Suffers Nationwide Blackout
HAVANA (AP) — Cuba Officials said that there was an outage in the National Electricity System (SEN) once again on Tuesday, leaving the entire country without electricity. It was the third such incident in two weeks, at a time when a US oil embargo is straining the island’s grid.
Cuba has been running out of fuel since US President Donald Trump’s visit in January. tariffs under threat An attack on any country that sells or supplies oil to the island deepens the island’s ongoing economic and financial crisis. Public transport was largely stopped and authorities canceled tens of thousands of surgeries.
Cuba produces only 40% of the fuel it needs. There does not seem to be a solution to fuel imports yet.
The state-owned Electricity Association said the problem at a generating unit in the eastern state of Holguín led to a “sudden frequency change” that led to a SEN outage at noon.
Both the Ministry of Energy and Mines and the Electricity Union stated that “protocols for its restoration have been put in place,” meaning “micro islands” have been created and connected to each other to provide electricity to priority areas such as hospitals and food processing plants.
The Associated Press confirmed that electricity was restored to some parts of the capital Havana in the afternoon, while officials stated that 4% of the city had electricity. Guantanamo and Cienfuegos provinces reported that they had begun distributing electricity to their hospitals, and Matanzas confirmed that electricity had been restored in the city’s historic centre.
Last week, there were two power outages across the country on Monday and Friday. It left more than 9 million Cubans in the dark, Several more regional outages were added in March, along with two other outages.
The blackouts have a significant impact on the population and, combined with the energy embargo, have led to transport restrictions, reduced working hours and flight cancellations, as well as serious public health consequences.
Power outages also affect essential activities such as cooking, water supply, internet and telephone services.
The power outage on the streets of Havana did not surprise residents.
“These power outages are normal in Cuba now. It would be weird if it was anything else,” said Roberto Liana, 69, who works in retail stores.
Meanwhile, many people, like Sayli Aguilera (25), a mother of two, were trying to adapt to the conditions. “We’re improvising and doing the best we can,” he said.
Many families have installed solar backup systems such as panels and portable batteries, and the population’s main means of transportation consists of electric motorcycles and tricycles equipped with photovoltaic power.
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