Cuba’s electrical grid went offline on Friday following the failure of one of the island’s major power plants, according to the energy ministry.
Earlier, the government announced that the La Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, one of the nation’s main energy sources, had stopped operating around 11 a.m. local time. Authorities emphasised that the outage was temporary.
Prior to the announcement, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero addressed the public to calm concerns about the blackout, which began Thursday evening.
A widespread outage had left millions of Cubans without power, prompting the government on Friday to introduce emergency measures to reduce demand. These included suspending classes, closing some state-owned workplaces, and halting non-essential services.
Cuban officials reported that the blackout, starting late Thursday, resulted in 1.64 gigawatts of power going offline during peak hours, which accounted for about half of the island’s total demand at the time.
“The situation has worsened in recent days,” Prime Minister Manuel Marrero said in a national television address early Friday morning. “We must be fully transparent … we have been halting economic activities to ensure energy for the population.”
Marrero was joined by Alfredo López, chief of UNE, who explained that the outage was caused by increased demand from small- and medium-sized companies and residences using air conditioners, as well as breakdowns in aging thermoelectric plants that have not been properly maintained and a shortage of fuel to run some facilities.
Marrero also mentioned that the government is considering changes to electricity rates for small- and medium-sized businesses, which have expanded since they were first allowed by the communist regime in 2021.
Despite Marrero’s reassurances about an expected fuel supply from Cuba’s state-owned oil company, the blackout, which hit during an already dire economic crisis, left many Cubans anxious. Residents kept their windows and doors shut as candles or lanterns lit up their homes.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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