Cuba’s electric grid collapses again, less than a day after last blackout
The ageing power system has seen frequent blackouts, including three outages over nine days in July affecting millions.
HAVANA: Cuba's national electrical grid succumbed to failure once more on Monday, as announced by state-run media, amidst attempts to restore the system following a nationwide blackout on Sunday night. The country's aging power generation system is grappling with fuel scarcity, deteriorating infrastructure, and a US-imposed oil blockade.
Blackouts affecting the entire island, home to approximately 10 million residents, have been increasingly prevalent in recent months. Three outages occurred in July, spanning across nine days, preceding the latest outage just before 11 pm local time on Monday.
Lazaro Manuel Alonso, the news director of Cuba's state-run television, conveyed via social media that "despite the progress made today, an oscillation triggered the collapse." The US-imposed oil blockade, following the deposing of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro by the Trump administration in January, has severely impacted the island's already aging energy infrastructure.
Venezuela, Cuba's primary fuel supplier, ceased oil shipments to the island following US pressure. Mexico also halted oil shipments to the island, exacerbating the situation. Havana attributes the failing infrastructure to the decades-old US trade embargo, while Washington attributes the blackouts to the mismanagement of Cuba's state-run economy.
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