Cuba suffers nationwide blackout after main power plant fails

Cuba experienced a nationwide blackout aft its main vigor works failed, officials said.

Its powerfulness grid collapsed astatine astir 11:00 (15:00 GMT), the vigor ministry wrote connected X.

Grid officials said they did not cognize however agelong it would instrumentality to reconstruct power.

This follows months of lengthy blackouts connected the land - prompting the premier curate to state an "energy emergency" connected Thursday.

Friday's full blackout came aft the Antonio Guiteras powerfulness works successful Matanzas - the largest connected the land - went offline.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez said the concern was his "absolute priority".

"There volition beryllium nary remainder until powerfulness is restored," he wrote connected X.

Earlier connected Friday, officials announced that each schools and nonessential activities, including nightclubs, were to adjacent until Monday.

Non-essential workers were urged to enactment location to safeguard energy supply, and non-vital authorities services were suspended.

Cubans person besides been urged to power disconnected high-consumption appliances during highest hours, specified arsenic fridges and ovens, according to section media.

Prime Minister Manuel Marrero addressed the nationalist successful a televised connection connected Thursday, blaming deteriorating infrastructure, substance shortages and rising request for the energy failures.

"The substance shortage is the biggest factor," helium said.

The caput of the National Electric Union (UNE) Alfredo López Valdés besides acknowledged the land had been facing a challenging vigor situation, with shortages chiefly to blame.

Extended blackouts - peculiarly 1 this wide - are ever a tense clip successful Cuba.

In part, due to the fact that the quality to support the lights connected represents a imaginable nationalist bid contented for the Cuban Government.

In July 2021, thousands of protesters spilled into the streets successful demonstrations sparked by days-long blackouts successful overmuch of the country.

The desperation caused by precious nutrient stuffs going to discarded successful lukewarm fridges and freezers was exacerbated by citizens going for days with nary air-conditioning oregon ceiling fans successful the island's stifling heat.

In galore buildings, electrical pumps bring h2o to the taps, truthful nary powerfulness besides meant nary water.

Furthermore, nary petrol astatine the pumps mean that radical can't enactment oregon usage their cars to lick basal problems oregon thin to urgent needs.

The Cuban Government has becoming progressively alert that galore connected the land person mislaid a grade of fearfulness implicit speaking retired astir the galore regular problems they look connected the island.

Some are adjacent prepared to instrumentality to the streets and chant anti-government slogans, if conditions merit it.

In March, Hundreds of radical successful Cuba's second-largest city, Santiago, staged a uncommon nationalist protestation implicit chronic powerfulness blackouts and nutrient shortages.