Cuba gets some electricity back after major power outage

HAVANA

Some electricity was restored in Cuba, the government said on Oct. 19, after the cash-strapped nation's worst blackout in at least two years left millions without electricity for two days.

Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy said the country had 500 megawatts in its electrical grid early Oct. 19, compared to the 3 gigawatts that are normally generated.

About half of Cuba was plunged into darkness on Oct. 17 evening, followed by the entire island on Oct. 18 morning after the plant failed.

The capital Havana came to a virtual standstill as schools closed, public transport ground to a halt and traffic lights stopped functioning.

The blackout followed weeks of power outages, lasting up to 20 hours a day in some provinces, which prompted Prime Minister Manuel Marrero on Oct. 17 to declare an "energy emergency."

Cuba is in the throes of its worst economic crisis since the collapse of the Soviet Union, a key ally in the early 1990s, marked by sky-high inflation and shortages of food, medicine, fuel and even water.

While the authorities chiefly blame the U.S. embargo, the island is also feeling the aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic battering its critical tourism sector, and of poor economic mismanagement.

To bolster its grid, Cuba has leased seven floating power plants from Turkish companies and also added many small diesel-powered generators.

In July 2021, blackouts were the spark for an unprecedented outpouring of public anger.

Thousands of Cubans took to the streets shouting "We are hungry" and "Freedom!" in a rare challenge to the government.