Cuba: Island country continues to remain in darkness after days of blackout

Cubans use a motorbike to lit a street during the second day of the nationwide blackout in Havana, on Saturday, October 19. Pic/AFP

Many Cubans were left in distress on Sunday, October 20, as electricity is yet to be fully restored across much of the island following days of blackout, news agency AP reported. While some neighbourhoods in Havana, home to 2 million people, have had their power restored, large areas of the capital remain in darkness. The blackout has far-reaching effects, as services like water supply also rely on electricity to operate pumps.

Residents in Cuba have resorted to cooking on makeshift wood stoves in the streets, desperate to prevent their food from spoiling in refrigerators, reported AP.

The crisis began with the failure of the Antonio Guiteras power plant on Friday, which caused a complete collapse of the electricity system in Cuba. This incident adds to a long history of energy distribution issues in a country where electricity is often restricted and rotated among different regions at various times of the day, AP stated.

On Sunday morning, people lined up for hours to buy bread at the few bakeries that managed to reopen.

The blackout in Cuba began on Thursday evening, plunging about half of the country into darkness, and by Friday morning, the entire island was affected. In addition to the Antonio Guiteras plant, which significantly impacted the national system, it remains unclear whether other plants are operational.

This blackout is considered the worst Cuba has experienced in two years, reminiscent of the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian in 2022, which damaged power installations and took days to repair. In recent months, some homes have endured power outages lasting up to eight hours daily.

On Saturday, the government reported that some electricity had been restored after the failure of a major power plant. However, the output of 500 megawatts on the island's grid quickly dropped to 370 megawatts, well below the usual 3 gigawatts needed.

There is no official estimate for when the blackout will end. Even in a country accustomed to power outages amid a worsening economic crisis, Friday's collapse was significant. In response, the Cuban Government has announced emergency measures to reduce electricity demand, including suspending classes in schools and universities, shutting down certain state-owned enterprises, and cancelling nonessential services.

Local authorities attributed the outage to increased demand from small- and medium-sized businesses and residential air conditioners. The situation worsened due to breakdowns in outdated thermoelectric plants that have not been adequately maintained, compounded by a lack of fuel to operate some facilities.

(With AP inputs)