Cuba is facing a power outage across the island, affecting the entire population of 10 million people.
The Energy Ministry reported that Cuba’s power system was shut down on Friday after the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric power plant stopped working, around 11 a.m. local time. Later in the evening, authorities said power had returned to about 20,000 residents in the capital Havana, with a population of 2 million.
The massive blackout left millions of Cubans without power and prompted the government to take emergency measures to reduce demand, including suspending classes, closing some state-owned enterprises and cancelling non-essential services.
“From the highest levels of the state we are working to solve this energy contingency as soon as possible,” Prime Minister Manuel Marrero posted on social media. “We will not rest until service is restored.” He later added that the government had been “halting economic activities to ensure energy for the population.”
The blackout stemmed from increased demand from small and medium-sized businesses and residential air conditioners, as well as the breakdown of old thermal power plants that had not been properly maintained and a shortage of fuel to run some facilities, according to Alfredo Lopez, head of state utility UNE.
On the part of the country’s leadership, we are giving absolute priority to the attention and solution of this very sensitive energy problem for the country. There will be no peace until it is restored, according to Cuba’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel.
Aside from, Cuba’s demand for electricity has increased, oil supplies have been greatly restricted. The country’s main oil supplier Venezuela has cut supplies, while oil shipments from other countries such as Russia and Mexico have also been significantly reduced.
As of Friday evening, there was no word yet on how soon power would be restored. The Ministry of Energy posted on social media that it was still checking all thermal power plants, fuel availability and the condition of the power grid.
Although blackouts are not rare in the country, the scale of the latest outage in the evening made millions of Cubans nervous. On Thursday night, residents closed their doors and windows, which they usually leave open overnight, and lit candles or lanterns in their homes.
