Cuba’s Power Grid Failure

A street in Habana, Cuba. Photo by
Robin Canfield on UnSplash.

Causes of the Power Grid Failure

Cuba’s power grid failed on Friday night, leaving millions without electricity.

The outage started around 8 p.m. Eastern time and affected much of western Cuba, including Havana. This is the fourth major blackout in five months.

The Cuban government blames U.S. sanctions for the crisis, but others cite aging infrastructure, fuel shortages, and hurricane damage.

Government Response

Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy said the failure began at the Diezmero substation, which triggered a collapse of the National Electric System. No timeline was given for when power would return.

Impact of the Power Outage

CNN footage showed Havana in darkness, with people using flashlights. Similar blackouts have caused hardship before. In October, a long outage led to street cooking and rare protests. Some residents blocked streets with trash before security forces intervened. At the time, O Levy downplayed the unrest as minor incidents.

Cuba’s Energy Dependency

Although Cuba has some of its own oil and gets some power from biofuels like sugarcane, and from solar energy, it is dependent mostly on oil imports from Venezuela, and to some extent Russia. It also has aging power generation structures.

Economic Implications

Cuba earns foreign currency mainly from tourism and remittances, with some exports of nickel and cobalt to China, which are key for making batteries. Cuba exchanges medical services for oil with Venezuela. It also exports vaccines and other medications.

Coping Mechanisms

Some businesses have backup generators, but due to the high cost of fuel, this are difficult to run. Many small businesses have small electric generators, and many people use car batteries with inverters to power lights and internet connections.

Source: VOA.

Conclusion

The power grid failure in Cuba has significant implications for the country’s economy and its people. The government’s response to the crisis will be crucial in determining the speed of recovery and the prevention of future outages.