UPDATE
Oct 19, 2024 3:00 PM CDT
Hours after officials said power was in the process of being restored following Friday's nationwide power outage, "a new total outage occurred," according to a statement from the Cuba Electrical Union. The second nationwide blackout took place Saturday morning, and the union said it was working on a fix, CNN reports. NBC News reports on the scene in Havana, with few cars on the road, traffic lights not working, and not many stores open as people searched for food since what they had in the refrigerator had spoiled.
Oct 18, 2024 4:40 PM CDT
Cuba was left in darkness on Friday when its largest power plant failed, prompting the government to largely shut down the island nation of 10 million people. "There will be no rest until (power) is restored," President Miguel Diaz-Canel posted on X. Grid managers said it was unclear when that would happen, Reuters reports. All non-vital government services were canceled, as were classes at schools and universities. Recreational and cultural activities, including night clubs, were closed. The aging infrastructure has failed to provide power to millions for days and led to rolling blackouts for several weeks.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero blamed the blackouts on familiar suspects: deteriorating infrastructure, lack of fuel, and increasing demand. "The fuel shortage is the biggest factor," he said. His televised address was garbled, beset with technical difficulties, and delayed for hours. Officials blamed other factors, as well, including stepped-up US economic sanctions and recent hurricanes. The communist-run government took steps to conserve power, including telling many workers to stay home, per CNN. "We have been paralyzing economic activity to generate (power) to the population," Marrero said.
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He urged Cubans to reduce power usage, saying the surge in demand when the electricity comes back on again strains the system, per the New York Times. The lights went off before midday Friday after the failure at the thermoelectric power plant in Matanzas, east of Havana, officials said. Drivers tried to move through Havana with the help of a few police officers directing traffic but no stoplights. Nearly all commerce stopped. A few generators could be heard running at homes and restaurants. Marrero assured the nation that fuel was on its way by boat to help with the crisis. "We are not in an endless abyss," he said. (More Cuba stories.)
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