Cuba says it has begun to restore electricity after blackout, millions remain without electricity

Cuba said Wednesday it has begun restoring power supplies following a new collapse of its power grid, the latest in a series of blackouts at the national level that confirmed the increasingly fragile state of the country’s system.

Millions of Cubans were still without electricity, according to official reports, forcing the government to suspend classes and work activities until electricity is restored.

Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy said he expects the system to be operational again on Thursday.

The collapse of the electrical grid occurred when the Antonio Guiteras power plant in Matanzas, the largest electricity producer on the island, stopped working around 2:00 in the morning.

Cuba’s aging oil-fired power plants went into full crisis this year as crude oil imports from Venezuela, Russia and Mexico dwindled, contributing to multiple blackouts across the country for two months.

The shortage of food, medicine, water and electricity, as well as fuel, has made life increasingly complex for many Cubans, generating record emigration in the last three years.

The Cuban government blames US trade sanctions against Havana, which complicate financial transactions and the purchase of fuel.

The Minister of Energy said that several plants in the country were out of service due to breakdowns or maintenance when the Matanzas plant had a failure that caused the national collapse.

Danielis Mora, a hotel worker in Havana, woke up frustrated Wednesday. “I didn’t know it was a total blackout again,” he said. “Where I live there is no gas either, there is no electricity and so there is no way to prepare food; it will have to be with firewood or charcoal.”

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