Following Cuba's worst blackout in at least two years, the government announced that some electricity has been restored to parts of the island nation. Energy Minister Vicente de O Levy reported that the country had 500 megawatts in its electrical grid early Saturday, a significant improvement from the previous day's outage that left millions without power for two days. He mentioned that several substations in the west now have electricity, with two thermoelectric power plants back online and two more expected to resume operations shortly.
The blackout, which initially affected half of Cuba on Thursday evening and escalated to encompass the entire island by Friday morning, was attributed to a plant failure. Havana's electricity company revealed that a portion of its western system was disconnected due to the exit of one of the plants providing service, causing some areas of the city to experience darkness once again.
The impact of the blackout extended beyond lighting, affecting essential services like water supply that rely on electricity to operate pumps. The Cuban government has implemented emergency measures to reduce electricity demand, including suspending school and university classes, closing select state-owned workplaces, and canceling nonessential services. Officials noted that 1.64 gigawatts went offline during peak hours, approximately half of the total demand at the time.
The outage was exacerbated by breakdowns in aging thermoelectric plants that have not been adequately maintained, as well as fuel shortages hindering the operation of certain facilities. Increased demand from small- and medium-sized companies, along with residential air conditioners, also contributed to the strain on the electrical grid. The government is considering changes to electricity rates for these businesses, which have seen a proliferation since being authorized by the communist government in 2021.
While there is no official estimate for when the blackout will be fully resolved, efforts are underway to address the situation and restore power to all affected areas. The Cuban population, accustomed to periodic outages amid a deepening economic crisis, faced significant disruptions as a result of this recent power failure.
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