Cuba faces biggest blackouts of the year
Cuba is going through one of its worst power crises this year.
Power cuts have been happening daily since the start of February, with no less than 41% of the country losing electricity during peak hours. Some people have been without power for more than 24 hours.
The government says the problem is due to major failures at the country’s power plants. Nine thermoelectric plants are down five because of breakdowns and four for maintenance.
Two floating power plants rented from a Turkish company are also not working because there is no fuel. The authorities hope to get them running again by Friday. Other power generators in the country have stopped for the same reason, no fuel.
People in many areas are struggling. Some say they cannot cook because gas is hard to find. Others say they are running out of money because they cannot work without electricity. In some towns, even water supplies are affected.
The government’s power company, UNE, said the country faced outages on Thursday, February 13, 2025, affecting at least 56% of the country.
In Cienfuegos, some areas have gone more than a full day without power.
Even Havana, which usually gets fewer blackouts, has seen scheduled six-hour cuts during the day and more unplanned ones at night.
Cuba has been struggling with electricity issues for years. Last year, the country had several major blackouts, including three that left almost the entire island in darkness. This latest crisis shows the problem is not getting any better.
