Due to the ongoing power crisis in Cuba, the lives of tens of millions of people in the country have come to a standstill. On Saturday, the government announced power had been restored to some areas, but much of the country remained in darkness. This is considered the most serious power outage in recent years in Cuba’s history, completely disrupting normal life.
Cuba has been plunged into darkness since last Thursday
Almost half of Cuba was plunged into darkness Thursday night, but by Friday morning the entire island was engulfed in the crisis. The problem occurred due to the failure of a large power plant. Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy said on Saturday that 500 megawatts of power had been restored to the country’s power grid, which under normal circumstances could generate 3 gigawatts. He said power had been restored to parts of the western region and two thermal power plants were back in operation. Hopefully more factories will be able to restart soon.
However, the capital Havana and other major parts of the country remain in darkness. Havana Electric said parts of the city were plunged into darkness again on Saturday, reducing total power supply from 500 megawatts to 370 megawatts.
Burning candles and lamps at home
Havana, the Cuban capital of about 2 million people, is strangely peaceful. There was very little traffic on the road, and most of the people in the houses spent the night by candlelight. The power crisis has completely affected people’s daily lives. The biggest crisis is the water supply, which has come to a standstill as electric pumps have shut down.
There is no drinking water in many areas
With potable water lacking in many parts of the city, people gathered in the streets and those with resources were forced to buy water. “We thought it would only take a few hours, but now it’s been two days and we don’t know when the power will be fully restored,” said Jose, 45, who lives in Havana.
Cuba, which was already in economic trouble, fell into an even more difficult period after this power outage. The power crisis has affected vital services such as food security, health services and transportation. Due to a lack of electricity, food in markets is spoiling and hospitals rely on generators to maintain emergency services. But concerns are growing that these generators cannot operate for long periods of time.
The Cuban government is working to ensure power is restored as soon as possible. Energy Minister Olevi said plans to start up more plants in the coming hours would improve the situation. However, it is unclear when power will be fully restored across the country. Millions of people remain in darkness and uncertainty, eagerly awaiting the day when life can return to normal.
