HAVANA (AP) — Cuba’s power grid collapsed on Friday, leaving millions of people across the island without electricity in a nationwide blackout.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines announced the islandwide power outage on its official X account and added that officials had begun “activating service-restoration protocols.”
According to Cuban authorities, a failure reportedly occurred in transmission lines in the western part of the country, causing the system
to collapse in that area — as far as Matanzas province — and the eastern section of the island was subsequently disconnected.
The official newspaper Granma reported that “unstable” weather conditions further aggravated the grid’s situation.
By dusk, power had been restored to 5% of users in Havana, which has a total of about 862,000 customers, according to official data. Small power-distribution “micro-islands” were being established in the provinces of Camagüey, Pinar del Río and Granma. Some systems serving hospitals and other emergency facilities were being reactivated.
“No one can stand these constant blackouts. There isn’t enough food, there’s no water, there’s no electricity -- you have no idea,” Mercedes Rodriguez, a 60-year-old worker in Havana, told The Associated Press as she waited for public transportation to return home. “The country is in such a sad state, and there are no words for what we’re going through."
Power grid collapses have become increasingly common over the past two years because of the severe economic crisis gripping the island. They have worsened since January, after the United States imposed an energy blockade aimed at forcing a change in Cuba’s political system.
The restrictions prevent Cuba from importing the fuel needed to operate its thermoelectric power plants, as well as replacement parts required to maintain infrastructure that in many cases has become obsolete. Just one tanker of fuel has been delivered since, by a Russian tanker in March.
The two most recent nationwide blackouts occurred in early August, following others in July and March, as well as several regional outages.
Even when the national power grid is working, Cubans endure outages lasting more than 30 consecutive hours.
The blackouts have a significant impact on the population and, combined with the energy embargo, have led to transportation limitations, reduced work hours and flight cancellations, in addition to serious public health consequences.
The power outages also affect basic activities such as cooking, water supply, and internet and telephone service.
Abilén Marrero, a homemaker, sat resignedly at the entrance to her building in central Havana.
“Maybe it’ll come back this afternoon or tomorrow—there’s no way to know. We just have to wait," she said.
