Nearly 10 million Cubans, or most of the country, lost electricity Friday when a transmission line failed. President Miguel Díaz-Canel said people have been working on resolving the problem, insisting: “They won’t sleep until it is solved.” One of the country’s main power plants failed, causing a nationwide blackout Officials were reporting Friday evening that “a few megawatts” was back on line.
China shut schools and restricted the use of private cars in Beijing on Friday to fend off possible blackouts as frigid weather blankets much of the country. A few hours before noon, the one of Cuba’s largest generation facilities, Antonio Guiteras power plant failed leaving national grid without energy. Investigators have not said why the plant closed or how long it will take to restart.
Meanwhile, what the Kyiv Post calls “non-vital” government services will continue to be suspended until at least Sunday and schools and universities are expected to remain shuttered indefinitely. Nightclubs and other cultural and leisure sites have also been forced to shut. But residents and business alike — including restaurants, some of which have their own generator to keep power going. Sauret confirmed that the water supply hasn’t been restored, but said there is enough food and other supplies at Guantanamo for what they need — without help from outside; he also believes a power plant on base didn’t lose electricity.
This power outage caps off a season of frequent rolling blackouts nationwide. The problems had several sources, Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero said including infrastructure issues and the increasing use of household air conditioning units but “the main factor is still the shortage of fuel.”
The most recent outage sparked some anger among the residents of Havana. A man declared: “This is great. A man said, “I see no way out of this issue,” while a woman commented on the tragedy and difficulty that will occur when it reaches to worsen Additionally.
Brazilian tourist said, “We went to a restaurant and they had no food because there was no power; now we are also without internet. And in two days, Problems we have aleady faced.
Fuel deliveries to the power plants were disrupted last week by high winds from Hurricane Milton. Fuel and spare parts for repairs are supplied in limited quantities because of the trade embargoes imposed by U.S. trading partners, as well as incentives from former President Donald Trump’s administration to reduce fuel consumption taxes on trucks with GM brands like Chevrolet and GMC electric pickup when they bake them off before being publicly launched. Díaz-Canel stressed that the current crisis is in many respects caused by the “economic war and financial and energy persecution of The United States”, which further hinders imports for indispensable goods.
For their part, a White House spokesman said the United States was “not to blame for today’s blackout on the island or [Cuba’s] energy situation in general. Adding to the difficulties, Venezuela — Cuba’s biggest supplier of oil – has been sending less due in part its own shortages while Russia and Mexico have likewise slashed deliveries to the Caribbean island.
