Cuba experiences a nationwide power outage.

According to Reuters , Cuba experienced a nationwide power outage on October 18 (local time) after one of the country's major power plants malfunctioned, causing the national power grid to shut down.

A woman prepares food under the light of a mobile phone in Havana, Cuba, on October 18. (Photo: Reuters)

The Cuban Ministry of Energy stated that the "incident" at the Antonio Guiteras power plant "caused a complete disconnection of the national power grid."

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel declared that restoring the power grid is the government's "top priority" and that there "will be no respite" until electricity is restored.

Many videos and images circulating online show life in Cuba without electricity.

"We went to a restaurant but they couldn't serve us food because there was no electricity, and now we don't even have internet," shared Carlos Roberto Julio, a Brazilian tourist in Havana.

Cuban officials said they have begun taking steps to restore power, but the process will take time.

The power outage brought activities in Cuba to a near standstill. (Photo: Reuters)

An out-of-control power outage began across Cuba on the evening of October 17th, while Prime Minister Manuel Marrero was giving a televised speech. The broadcast itself experienced a "technical glitch" and went live later than expected.

In his speech, Mr. Marrero stated that the increasing number of power outages over the past few weeks was due to deteriorating infrastructure, fuel shortages, and high demand.

"Fuel shortages are the biggest cause," Marrero said, adding that last week's Hurricane Milton affected the ability to transport fuel from ships offshore to Cuba's power plants. In addition, the Cuban government also pointed to the US trade embargo as a contributing factor.

While electricity demand is increasing alongside the growth of the private sector in Cuba, fuel supplies are dwindling. Cuba's largest oil supplier, Venezuela, has reduced its oil shipments to the island nation to an average of 32,600 barrels per day in the first nine months of the year, about half the 60,000 barrels per day it shipped during the same period in 2023.

Venezuela's PDVSA oil refining company is also facing difficulties due to domestic fuel shortages, leaving only a small amount for export to allies such as Cuba.

Russia and Mexico have also significantly reduced the amount of fuel they ship to Cuba.

Hoa Vu (Source: Reuters, RT)

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/cuba-mat-dien-toan-quoc-ar902652.html