Much of Cuba, including the capital Havana, is still without power – 24 hours after a major power plant failed, knocking out power to 10 million people.
Authorities partially restored power to parts of the Caribbean island on Friday night – but another reported total blackout at 06:15 (10:15 GMT) on Saturday.
For many people it has been a difficult night without air conditioning or a fan. Food is starting to rot in the fridges, some families are cooking with wood. Many households do not have water as their supply depends on electric pumps.
Patience has worn thin, certainly as many have expressed on social media – but there are no credible reports of protests yet.
The situation is becoming increasingly critical, as schools and businesses are closed and there are fears about the continued operation of hospitals.
The outage comes during hurricane season, and there are fears that a major storm will damage Cuba’s power distribution infrastructure.
Friday’s blackout occurred after the Antonio Guiteras power plant in Matanzas – the island’s largest – went offline around 11:00 local time.
President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez said the situation is “very important” to him.
“There will be no rest until power is restored,” he wrote to X.
The communist president blamed the decades-old US embargo for preventing much-needed supplies and replacement parts from reaching Cuba.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez later echoed his words, saying that the damage done in just 18 days of the ban was equivalent to the annual cost of maintaining the national electricity grid.
“If the embargo is lifted, there will be no blackouts. This way the US government can support the Cuban people… if they want to,” the minister wrote on the X website.
Cuba was also attacked this year due to the decrease in important fuel supplies from Venezuela.
On Friday, Cuban officials announced that all schools and non-essential activities, including nightclubs, would be closed until Monday.
Non-essential workers were asked to stay at home to protect the power supply, and non-essential government services were suspended.
“This is crazy,” Eloy Fon, an 80-year-old pensioner in central Havana, told AFP news agency.
“It shows the weakness of our electricity system… We have no reserves, nothing to stabilize the country, we live day by day.”
Bárbara López, 47, a digital content creator, said she had already “not been able to work for two days”.
“It’s the worst I’ve seen in 47 years,” he said. “They’re really messed up now… We don’t have power or cell data.”
Prime Minister Manuel Marrero addressed the public in a televised message on Thursday, criticizing crumbling infrastructure, fuel shortages and increasing demand for electric mobility.
“The lack of fuel is the main reason,” he said.
The head of the National Electric Union (UNE) Alfredo López Valdés also admitted that the island was facing a challenging electricity situation, with a major shortage to blame.
Extended blackouts – especially these widespread ones – are always a tense time in Cuba.
In part, because the ability to keep the lights on represents a potential public order problem for the Cuban government.
In July 2021, thousands of protesters took to the streets in protests triggered by a multi-day power outage across much of the country.
The Cuban government is becoming increasingly aware that many on the island have lost some degree of panic by talking about the many daily problems they face.
Some are even ready to enter the streets and chant slogans against the government, if the conditions allow.
In March, Hundreds of people in Cuba’s second largest city, Santiago, staged a rare public protest over chronic power outages and food shortages.
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