Cuba hit by island-wide blackout after grid failure – DW – October 19, 2024

Cuba's national power grid was shut down on Friday after the failure of one of the country's largest power plants, the Energy Ministry said.

The Antonio Guiteras power plant went offline just before noon on Friday, causing a total grid failure and leaving around 10 million people without power.

What did Cuban officials say about the blackout?

“There will be no calm until (power) is restored,” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on X.

Officials said in the afternoon they had begun taking steps to restore power, but that process would take time.

Even before the total blackout, the authorities had suspended non-essential government services due to a power shortage. Schools, universities and leisure and cultural activities were also closed.

Officials said Cuba had struggled to deliver fuel from boats offshore to its power plants due to strong winds that began with Hurricane Milton.

The hurricane also caused significant damage in the USA, which US President Joe Biden estimated last week at 50 billion US dollars (45.98 euros).

Cuba blames the US embargo for the energy problems

On Thursday, Diaz-Canel also blamed the U.S. trade embargo and new sanctions imposed under former President Donald Trump's administration.

“The complex scenario is caused above all by the intensification of the economic war and the financial and energy persecution of the United States,” Diaz-Canel said on X.

Also on Thursday, Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marro acknowledged that the situation had “worsened” but said an influx of fuel supplies from Cuba's state oil company was expected.

He said the government is also considering changes to electricity tariffs for small and medium-sized businesses, which were first approved in 2021.

Cuba's largest oil supplier Venezuela has also reduced its deliveries to the island due to a wave of fuel shortages in the South American country.

sdi/rm (AP, Reuters, EFE)