Cuba restored its electricity network on Wednesday, after a third total disconnection in less than ten days, putting a strain on the daily lives of the inhabitants of this island lacking fuel due to the American oil blockade.
• Also read: Third general power outage in less than ten days in Cuba
• Also read: The United States sanctions Cuban entities, including the tourism ministry
The country of 9.6 million inhabitants was again deprived of electricity late Tuesday morning due to an “oscillation” in voltage, caused by the sudden shutdown of a unit of a thermoelectric plant, which led to a “sudden” imbalance between production and demand.
“At 7 a.m. local time (11 a.m. GMT), the electricity network was restored,” the Electric Union of Cuba (UNE) announced on X.
Two other general outages took place last week. The electricity network was restored after around 24 hours, but long power outages persist due to low electricity production.
The energy crisis is “killing human beings’ enthusiasm for life,” Maria Caridad Alvarez, a 62-year-old housewife, told AFP.
In recent weeks, power cuts have lasted more than 30 hours in a row in Havana and several days in the provinces, despite a vast solar park construction program launched two years ago.
In the grip of a serious economic crisis for five years, the country regularly suffers general or partial power cuts due to dilapidated infrastructure and fuel shortages.
But the situation has gotten even worse since Washington prevented deliveries of fuel to power generators which supplement the production of seven aging thermal power plants.
“A war”
“This situation is mainly due to the state of our electricity system, worsened by the decisions of the United States,” added the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, during a press conference on Tuesday.
“It is practically a war that we are experiencing,” he added, stressing that there is a “total absence of fuel” and that the government cannot obtain spare parts for its power plants.
According to the power company, the fuel shortage also makes the grid more vulnerable to outages and slows restoration work by preventing the use of backup generators.
Since January, Washington has only authorized the arrival in March of a single Russian tanker loaded with 100,000 tons of crude oil.
Residents regularly express their exasperation in the most affected neighborhoods by setting fire to piles of garbage or banging on pots and pans.
Relations between the United States and Cuba have become significantly strained since the start of the year, particularly after the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, an ally of the Cuban government.
Donald Trump believes that the communist island, located 150 kilometers from the coast of Florida, constitutes “an extraordinary threat” to the national security of the United States. He warned several times that he could “take control”.
The two countries are holding difficult talks. At the end of June, the head of Cuban diplomacy, Bruno Rodriguez, admitted that there was “no progress” in the current negotiations.
