Cubans relying on batteries, generators as latest power blackout persists

The Associated Press

· Posted: Mar 15, 2025 2:48 PM EDT | Last Updated: 12 minutes ago

Millions of radical successful Cuba remained without powerfulness Saturday aft a nonaccomplishment of the nation's electrical grid near the land successful the acheronian the erstwhile night.

The monolithic blackout is the 4th successful the past six months arsenic a terrible economical situation plagues the Caribbean country. The Ministry of Energy and Mines, successful a connection connected societal media, attributed the latest outage to a nonaccomplishment astatine a substation successful the suburbs of Havana, the capital.

Internet and telephone work were intermittent astir 18 hours aft powerfulness went retired astir 8 p.m. section clip Friday.

Lazaro Guerra, manager of energy astatine the ministry, said connected nationalist tv that powerfulness was already being generated to enactment captious services specified arsenic hospitals.

A connection from the Cuban Electricity Union released Saturday said the strategy was to make "microsystems" that volition link to each different to gradually reconstruct energy crossed the country. Several of these were already operating successful the provinces of Guantanamo, Santiago, Las Tunas and Pinar del Rio.

In Sancti Spiritus, the provincial vigor institution reported connected its Telegram transmission that much than 200,000 customers successful that country had energy acknowledgment to these microsystems.

Many Cuban families usage electrical instrumentality to hole their meals. The outage could origin nutrient to thaw successful refrigerators and perchance spoil owed to the island's tropical climate.

"When I was astir to commencement cooking and making immoderate spaghetti, the powerfulness went out. And present what?" Cecilia Duquense, a 79-year-old housewife who lives successful the working-class vicinity of Central Havana, said Saturday.

In Havana, radical were buying for nutrient Saturday. Businesses were open, though immoderate were operating utilizing batteries oregon tiny location generators.

Gas stations were besides open, but the passageway that runs nether Havana Bay and connects the metropolis to the outskirts was dark.

Cuba suffered akin blackouts successful October, November and December. The latest was the archetypal of 2025, but successful mid-February, authorities suspended classes and enactment activities for 2 days owed to a shortage of energy procreation that exceeded 50 per cent in the country.

Experts person said the energy disruptions are a effect of substance shortages astatine powerfulness plants and aging infrastructure. Most plants person been successful cognition for much than 30 years.

The outages travel arsenic Cubans are experiencing a terrible economical situation that analysts person blamed connected the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, a programme of home measures that triggered ostentation and, supra all, the tightening of sanctions by the United States.