Cuba hit with fifth blackout in less than a year with 10m people in the dark

"Emergency crews were working to restore power to 10 million people on Wednesday as Cuba suffered its fifth nationwide blackout in under a year, the energy ministry announced. There has been a total disconnection of the electric system, the energy ministry and National Electric Union said early on Wednesday. The grid failure follows a string of nationwide blackouts since late last year that plunged Cuba's frail and antiquated power generation system into near-total disarray."

"Cuba's oil-fired power plants, already obsolete and struggling to keep the lights on, reached a full crisis last year as oil imports from Venezuela, Russia and Mexico dwindled. In October 2024, the island, which is suffering its worst economic crisis in three decades, was plunged into darkness for several days following a shutdown of the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric power plant, the island's biggest."

"The country has also being facing fuel, food and other shortages amid its worst economic crisis in decades. Havana state worker Danai Hernandez, said she was on the way home from work which had just shut down. I'm going home to organize everything in the household and ... now we have to wait. We don't have any other choice, she said, visibly upset."

Emergency crews worked to restore power to about 10 million people after a total disconnection of Cuba's electric system, marking the fifth nationwide blackout in under a year. The nationwide grid failure follows repeated outages since late last year and left eastern provinces in darkness for hours. Authorities suspended classes and work during earlier shortages. Residents reported resorting to charcoal and firewood and expressed stress and frustration as households and services stopped. Obsolete, oil-fired plants have struggled amid dwindling oil imports from Venezuela, Russia and Mexico, and US sanctions have constrained foreign currency needed for fuel purchases and repairs.

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