Island-Wide Power Outage Hits Cuba on Friday

On Friday, Cuba experienced a nationwide power outage due to the failure of a major power plant, as reported by the country’s energy ministry. The New York Times highlighted the persistent issues with Cuba’s aging power grid, exacerbated by a fuel shortage that has impeded full operational capacity for several weeks.

At 11:00 AM local time, the national electricity system was completely disconnected, according to a post by the energy ministry on X. By approximately 4:00 PM, the ministry announced that they had managed to activate micro power grid systems in certain areas.

The night before the outage, residents were urged to reduce electricity consumption, and it was announced that schools and nonessential businesses would close, according to The Washington Post. Prime Minister Manuel Marrero indicated that the nation would need to halt its economic activities amidst the ongoing energy crisis.

Efforts are underway to restore functionality at the Antonio Guiteras power plant, the largest in the country, which went offline earlier that day, as reported by Reuters.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel attributed the energy emergency to difficulties in importing fuel due to US sanctions, in a statement posted on X. Typically, Cuba acquires a significant amount of fuel from Venezuela; however, both nations are currently dealing with US sanctions, dwindling fuel supplies, and economic challenges.

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