Cuba electrical grid back online but many still without power

Reuters

Published Dec 05, 2024 07:18AM ET

Updated Dec 05, 2024 09:46AM ET

By Dave Sherwood

HAVANA (Reuters) -Cuba said it had reconnected its national electrical grid on Thursday, though generation remained well below demand one day after a plant failure knocked out power to millions across the island.

The National Electric Union (UNE) said on Thursday that it had boosted generation to 1,450 megawatts (MW), still less than half the typical peak demand of 3,200 MW.

"The (grid) is operating normally now, but because of a generation deficit we don't have sufficient capacity to cover demand," said Lazaro Guerra, who oversees the sector for Cuba's energy ministry.

Havana, however, appeared to have returned to normalcy on Thursday. Power had returned to all of the capital city's "circuits," the local electric company said, and all of its hospitals were back online.

Around half of Cuba's power generation facilities are offline for maintenance or broken down. All are decades old and producing well under capacity. As a result, a majority of Cuba's residents suffer hours-long, rolling blackouts on a daily basis even when the grid is functional.

Cuba's electrical grid has been on the brink of collapse for years, as fuel shortages, a string of natural disasters and an economic crisis have left the island's government unable to maintain the system's decrepit infrastructure.

Dwindling oil imports from Venezuela, Russia and Mexico tipped the system into full crisis this year, leading to several nationwide blackouts that have sparked unrest and increasing anger among the population.

The blackouts, together with food, medicine and water shortages, have vastly complicated life on the island and driven a record-breaking exodus of its residents since 2020.

Cuba's communist-run government blames the crisis on the decades-old U.S. trade embargo, which stymies some financial transactions and makes it more difficult to purchase fuel and spare parts.

Get The News You Want
Read market moving news with a personalized feed of stocks you care about.
Get The App

Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.

Sign out
Are you sure you want to sign out?
NoYes
CancelYes
Saving Changes