Cuba's power grid goes down for fourth time, as major storm approaches

(CLO) Cuba's power grid went down again on Sunday, the fourth such incident in 48 hours as an approaching storm threatened to further devastate the island nation's infrastructure.

Earlier on Sunday, Cuba said it was making progress in restoring service, although millions of people remained without power more than two days after the initial grid collapse. "Restoration work has begun immediately," Cuba's Ministry of Energy and Mines said on X.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Oscar made landfall on the Caribbean island on Sunday, bringing strong winds and rain to northeastern Cuba and threatening to further complicate authorities' efforts to restore service.

Cubans cook with wood stoves during a power outage on October 19, 2024. Photo: AP

Cuba's meteorological agency has warned of an "extremely dangerous situation" in eastern Cuba, with the entire region largely without power or communications ahead of the storm, which brought winds of up to 100 mph.

Cuban authorities have closed schools and some other activities until Wednesday, citing the storm and the ongoing energy crisis. Officials said only essential workers would be allowed to report to work on Monday.

Cuba's Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy told reporters on Sunday morning that he hoped the grid would be operating normally by Monday or Tuesday but warned people not to expect significant improvements.

Cuba's national power grid first crashed around midday on Friday after the island's largest power plant shut down, causing chaos. The grid crashed again on Saturday morning.

By early Saturday evening, authorities reported some progress in restoring power before announcing that part of the grid had gone down again.

Energy Minister O Levy said the power outages were frustrating for people, but he said most Cubans understood and supported the authorities' efforts to restore power.

Cuba has blamed the US embargo for persistent difficulties in acquiring fuel and spare parts to operate and maintain its oil-fired plants. The US has denied any role in the grid failure.

Cuba relies on imports to fuel its aging oil-fired power plants. Fuel supplies to the island have been significantly reduced this year as Venezuela, Russia and Mexico, previously key suppliers, have been forced to cut exports to Cuba for various reasons.

Hoang Anh (according to Reuters, AP, CNN)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/luoi-dien-cuba-sap-lan-thu-tu-giua-luc-con-bao-lon-dang-toi-gan-post317655.html