HAVANA – Millions of people in Cuba were without power for a third straight day amid slow progress in restoring power. Multiple major power grid failures.
Energy and Mines Minister Vincent de la O’Levi told reporters at a press conference on Sunday that power was expected to be restored to everyone on the island by Tuesday. However, the news comes ahead of a report from the Department of Energy and Mines. The fourth power grid failure.
Levy warned that even if power was restored, “we will continue to have blackouts because we are still short of fuel.” He said the government was “discussing” access to fuel.
hurricane oscarA Category 1 storm made landfall on Cuba’s eastern northern coast Sunday night with sustained winds of 80 mph. Power restoration efforts could end if the storm affects plants in its path.
Levy blamed the “cruel blockade” of the United States for financial difficulties in procuring fuel and spare parts for Cuba’s power plants and the current electricity crisis. Cuban President Miguel DÃaz-Canel and other top leaders also blame Cuba for the U.S. embargo.
Cuba’s power grid collapsed on Friday morning, plunging a population of 10 million into darkness. As technicians slowly made progress on repairs, a second grid collapse occurred early Saturday, followed by another late Saturday and another on Sunday.
Levy said Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela and Russia had offered help and Cuba was still in communication with their governments.
“The Cuban government has not requested assistance at this time,” a State Department spokesperson told NBC News in an emailed statement.
“Clearly, the United States is not responsible for today’s power outage on the island or for Cuba’s overall energy situation,” the statement said.
In a statement, the spokesperson blamed Cuba’s economic situation on “economic policies and chronic mismanagement of resources,” adding that these policies and resources “added to the suffering” of the Cuban people.
The United States “is closely monitoring today’s power outage on the island, and we are concerned about the possible humanitarian impact on the Cuban people,” the spokesperson added.
A number of protests, or “cacerolazos”, broke out in different parts of the island on Saturday night, with people demonstrating by banging cans. Levy said the protests were “isolated incidents” and called them “incorrect” and “indecent”. Protests are rare in Cuba and generally not tolerated.
“The Cuban people and culture are not used to this,” he said of the protests.
According to the state-run news website “Cuba Debate”, power was restored to 260,000 households in Havana, the capital of 2 million people, at 3:30 pm local time. But some residents who had power said they lost power again after a while.
Power outages have existed in Cuba for years and have worsened in recent months. The communist country’s infrastructure is old and crumbling and in need of constant maintenance.
In the past, the Cuban government has cited growing energy demand and shortages of fuel for its factories as reasons for ongoing blackouts. In some provinces outside Havana, many people are grappling with power outages lasting up to 20 hours a day.
Oil supplies have been severely restricted since Venezuela, Cuba’s ally and main oil supplier, reduced oil deliveries to the island. Other countries that historically supplied oil, such as Russia and Mexico, have also reduced shipments.
Cuba has been in the midst of an economic crisis due to tightened U.S. sanctions during the administration of former President Donald Trump and the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Cuba’s tourism industry, one of the government’s most lucrative sources of revenue.
The state-led economy relies heavily on imports, and Cubans have faced shortages of food, medicine, water and fuel due to a lack of hard currency.
Cuba’s economic crisis triggered mass migration. According to the country’s National Statistics Office, more than 1 million people, or 10% of the population, fled the island between 2022 and 2023.
Orlando Matos reported from Havana and Carmen Sessions reported from Miami.
