Cuba’s aging power generation system is under severe strain from fuel shortages, deteriorating infrastructure and a US-imposed oil blockade.
Blackouts affecting the entire island, home to about 10 million people, have become increasingly frequent in recent months.
Three outages hit Cuba over the course of nine days in July, followed by the outage on Sunday just before 11 pm local time.
“Despite the progress made today, an oscillation triggered the collapse,” said Lazaro Manuel Alonso, news director of Cuba’s state-run television, in a post shared via social media.
“Since Friday I’ve only had an hour and a half of electricity, there’s no water, there’s nothing; what we Cubans are living through is not a life,” 43-year-old accountant Mayra Rodriguez said. She sleeps on her apartment balcony with her two small children to cope with the summer heat.
Residents in the worst-affected areas have vented their frustrations by setting piles of trash on fire or banging on pots and pans.
Carlos Duenas, a 62-year-old mechanic, said he felt worn out by the “unsustainable” situation.
“No one says when the situation might improve. In the meantime, we just have to endure,” he said. “Not everyone has the money to buy (solar) panels.”
A US-imposed oil blockade, after Trump’s administration deposed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January, has crippled the island’s already aging energy infrastructure.
Venezuela was Cuba’s primary fuel supplier, and subsequent US pressure also led Mexico to halt oil shipments to the island.
Havana blames a decades-old US trade embargo for its failing infrastructure, while Washington says the blackouts are due to the mismanagement of Cuba’s state-run economy. (Agencies)
