This Monday, the Cubans were going through the fourth day of one of the worst energy emergencies in recent years with a partial and intermittent electricity supply.
The government suspended classes and non-vital activities until Thursday while the national energy system, which collapsed on Friday, recovers, but continues the operation of basic services such as hospitals and water pumping.
In the early morning there were some protests in popular neighborhoods that had not received any electricity, such as Centro Habana and Santos Suárez, The Associated Press confirmed. Several dozen neighbors were banging their pots and pans, a few in the streets and others from their balconies.
The blackout is considered Cuba’s worst in two years after Hurricane Ian made landfall as a Category 3 storm in 2022 and damaged energy facilities in the west of the country, causing another national disconnection.
Havana, the country’s largest city and home to two million people, looked semi-paralyzed. Authorities said transportation would be normal, but few buses and cars were seen on the streets.
At the same time, in the east of the island the provinces of Guantánamo, Santiago, Granma, Las Tunas and Holguín received Oscar, a category one hurricane downgraded to a tropical storm.
Oscar entered the outskirts of the city of Baracoa on Sunday afternoon and with slow traffic, it left downpours and some storm surges, as well as flooding in low-lying areas. No deaths were reported and authorities did not report the extent of the damage.
In photos: Cuba experienced a massive blackout that left approximately 10 million inhabitants without electricity
Technical failures, fuel shortages and high demand have caused Cuba’s thermoelectric plants to constantly fail, forcing the government to declare an energy emergency and take measures such as closing schools and factories.
The predicted path for Oscar passes through several power plants and power generation plants, which hinders a normalization of the current, explained the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O.
De la O told reporters on Sunday that he hoped to have a reconnection on Monday or Tuesday at the latest, but warned that it would reach the level before the collapse, with frequent blackouts.
The energy emergency began on Thursday night when, during peak hours, 50% of the country was in darkness due to lack of electricity generation, a situation that led to a special appearance by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero to order saving measures such as the suspension of electricity. non-vital classes or activities and the announcement of fee increases.
However, the most critical situation broke out on Friday morning with the total collapse of the energy system, caused by the shutdown of the Antonio Guiteras plant, the Energy Minister explained on Sunday.
A report by engineer Lázaro Guerra of the Ministry of Energy and Mines informed local media that the country was serving about 700 megawatts. Normally the demand during peak hours is usually between 2,000 and 3,000 megawatts.
Electrical authorities reported that 50% of Havana already has electricity, although AP found that the service was intermittent.
The energy emergency is mainly due to an increase in demand, a lack of fuel to power generation plants and frequent breakdowns in old thermoelectric plants.
The last two factors are caused by United States sanctions, which prevent Cuba from buying crude oil or its derivatives or acquiring spare parts.
At the same time, the situation is part of a harsh economic crisis that was felt by the population with shortages, inflation and blackouts.
The energy demand was behind the July 2021 protests, the most important on the island in almost three decades. Other smaller and localized demonstrations took place in October 2022 and March 2024.
President Miguel Díaz-Canel acknowledged on Sunday that people were upset by the lack of light.
“There is a complete capacity within the party and other organizations to respond to the concerns of the population, as long as it is done in a decent, organized, civilized and disciplined manner,” said the president, who warned that “we are not going to allow anyone to act.” causing vandalism and much less disturbing the citizen tranquility of our town.”
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