Cuba has once again suffered a large-scale power outage due to an accident at one of the island's main power plants. Millions of people were left without electricity, forcing the authorities to announce the suspension of school and work activities indefinitely. This is reported by the AR, according to UNN.
Details
State-owned energy company Electric Union reported that the accident was caused by the shutdown of a thermal power plant in Matanzas province, east of Havana. According to the company, the large-scale failure affected the entire country.
Cuba's Minister of Energy and Mines said in a televised address that power supply would be fully restored by Thursday.
This outage was another blow to Cuba, which suffers from constant power outages. On October 18, 2024, the island experienced a major power outage that was exacerbated by Hurricane Oscar. A few weeks later, the strong winds of Hurricane Rafael caused another large-scale outage that left the country's power grid offline,
Frequent outages, covering more than half the country during peak hours, are caused by fuel shortages and deteriorating infrastructure. For many regions, electricity is critical for cooking and water supply.
Cuba's energy system is based on large thermal power plants and smaller oil-fired power plants. The island produces about half of its own oil, but has to import the rest, which is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive due to US sanctions. Cuba has traditionally relied on allies such as Venezuela and Russia to provide cheaper fuel supplies.
The Cuban government is working to modernize the energy grid by introducing alternative energy sources. Currently, 31 solar energy centers are under construction and are scheduled to be completed next year.
Recall
In November of this year , Hurricane Rafael caused a nationwide power outage in Cuba. 70,000 people were evacuated and the category three storm brought heavy rains and the threat of flooding.