Power is slowly returning to Havana’s hospitals and homes after the total blackout that hit Cuba on Friday. But it won’t be the last. The island is going through an acute energy crisis, which is leading to economic paralysis and social unrest.
The vast majority of the country’s 10 million people were still in the dark on Saturday morning. Grid operator UNE said it expects to restart at least five of its oil-fired generating units, providing enough electricity to wider areas in the coming hours.
The total blackout
The communist government announced on Friday morning that it would close schools and all “non-essential businesses” (such as entertainment centers and other recreational facilities) for three days, while also sending most public employees home in a last-ditch effort. effort to keep the lights on after weeks of severe power cuts.
But shortly before noon, the Antonio Guiteras power station, the largest and most efficient in the country, went out of service, causing a total blackout and leaving the entire island without power.
The blackout marks a new low point on the island, where life is becoming increasingly unbearable, with residents suffering from shortages of food, fuel, water and medicine. Prime Minister Manuel Marrero, when describing the measures taken, admitted that the government had no choice but to “paralyze the economy”.
US sanctions, dependence on Venezuela and flight
Cuba is suffering its worst economic crisis in decades, due to the embargo, the strengthening of sanctions imposed by the US in recent years, the regime’s ineffective policies and the failure of the tourism industry to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Food and fuel shortages have led hundreds of thousands of Cubans to emigrate in recent years, with the island estimated to have lost between 10% and 20% of its population.
Cuba relies heavily on Venezuela for its oil. But the South American country faces its own energy problems and has cut off supplies to the island. Cuba received an average of 32,600 barrels per day in the first nine months of this year, around half the amount sent in the same period in 2023, according to the Reuters news agency. And Venezuela’s allies, Russia and China, have failed to send enough aid to fill the gap, despite expressions of political solidarity.
Despite the constant blackouts and shortages, Cuba “is not yet in a bottomless abyss”, Marrero wanted to reassure. It doesn’t look very convincing.
The typhoon and Turkish floating stations
Millions of Cubans, long accustomed to frequent blackouts, have recently been hit by dramatically longer blackouts, often lasting 12 hours. Outside the capital, Havana, electricity is very scarce, often unavailable for more than 18 hours a day.
The problem was worsened by the passage of Hurricane Milton last week, whose strong gusts and waves disrupted the supply of fuel from offshore ships to power plants, Cuban officials said. In another blow, Turkish floating power plants that generate important electricity for Cuba ran out of fuel and closed.
The worsening electricity crisis in Cuba is condemning hundreds of thousands of people to poverty. About five percent of the population – more than 600,000 people – lacks regular running water, according to government officials, a problem also fueled by crumbling infrastructure and rising fuel needs.
At the same time, there is evidence that violent crime is increasing on the island, especially in relation to the emergence of a new cannabis-based drug called “quimico”.
Cubans who had money turned to generators to face the crisis. But the average monthly salary is only about $10.