Cuba’s national electrical grid reportedly shut down on Friday, plunging the island nation into darkness.
“Cuba’s electrical grid shut down after one of the island’s major power plants failed, plunging the entire country into a blackout, the ministry of energy and mines said,” Reuters noted.
Cuba's electrical grid shut down after one of the island`s major power plants failed, plunging the entire country into a blackout, the ministry of energy and mines said https://t.co/0k8AkIMOpD
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 18, 2024
Per CNN:
In a statement on X, the ministry said “the failure” of the Antonio Guiteras Power Plant caused “the total disconnection of the National Electrical System” from 11 a.m. ET on Friday.
In Havana, motorists on Friday tried to navigate the city where no street lights appeared to be working and only a handful of police were directing traffic. Generators are a luxury for most Cubans and only a few could be heard running in the city.
This week, Cuba’s increasingly energy-strapped government called for draconian measures to save power, including telling many workers to stay home.
Classes at schools were canceled from Friday through the weekend, nightclubs and recreation centers were ordered closed, and only “indispensable workers” should show up at their jobs, according to a list of energy-saving measures published by the state-run website Cubadebate earlier on Friday.
Millions of people on the communist-run island have been left without power over the last several days as the aging Cuban electrical grid repeatedly collapsed.
Cuba sees an island-wide blackout after "failure" of one of its major power plants, according to the country's energy ministry https://t.co/lWuuaBl0pk
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) October 18, 2024
⚠️ Confirmed: Network data show a significant decline in internet traffic in Cuba; the incident is attributed a power outage due to the shutdown of Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant per the Ministry of Energy ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/E7dUqStW8t
— NetBlocks (@netblocks) October 18, 2024
Reuters reports:
The Communist-run government earlier in the day closed schools and non-essential industry and sent most state workers home in a last-ditch effort to keep the lights on for residents.
But shortly before midday, the Antonio Guiteras power plant, the country’s largest and most efficient, went offline, prompting a total grid failure and leaving approximately 10 million people without power.
“There will be no rest until (power) is restored,” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on X.
The crisis had already prompted officials to cancel all non-vital government services. Schools of all levels including universities, have been shuttered through Sunday. Recreational and cultural activities, including night clubs, were also ordered closed.
The government said only essential employees of the state-run food and healthcare industries should report to work on Friday.
Grid officials said they did not know how long it would take to re-establish service.