Storms disrupt Cuba’s power restoration, operator says, less than a day after sixth nationwide blackout
CNN
By Diego Mendoza, CNN
(CNN) — Thunderstorms have disrupted Cuba’s attempt to restore electricity, the national grid operator said Monday, less than a day after the country suffered its sixth nationwide blackout of the year.
“During the process of restoring the National Electric System, prevailing weather conditions caused disruptions to the grid, directly affecting the generating units that were online,” Unión Eléctrica said in a statement.
The outage comes as the US continues imposing a blockade of oil that Cuba uses to power its aging energy infrastructure.
Cuba has been facing a years-long energy crisis that worsened in January after the US captured Havana’s closest ally, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and forced the acting government to stop shipping oil to the island. Mexico has also halted exports in response to US pressure.
The island of roughly 10 million people suffered two outages in March and three in July.
The rolling blackouts this summer have proved increasingly difficult for locals, many of whom are forced to wake up in the middle of the night and cook, wash, use the internet, and cool-off during the hot summer months, unsure of how many hours electricity will last.
Cubans are being forced to adapt amid the frequent blackouts, carrying on with their lives, jobs and daily routines, but with some changes.
Without fuel for taxis, for example, some drivers in Havana are using solar-powered tricycles to move people around. The use of solar energy in general is gradually increasing in parts of the country, according to data from the energy think tank Ember.
US pressure has slowly pushed Havana into making some economic reforms.
Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruzden in July announced the government had approved the first foreign investment venture to import and sell fuel, Reuters reported, adding that nearly 200 businesses on the island had been given permission to engage in wholesale fuel distribution.
Lawmakers have also approved some measures authorizing private investment into the tourism industry, which has been devastated by the departure of hotel giants in response to US sanctions and flight cancellations due to fuel shortages.
Still, the government has acknowledged these are incremental, and it will take time for the sweeping economic reforms to make noticeable changes.
“The results will be achieved gradually,” Marrero said on Wednesday. “Starting now, the most important, and perhaps the most difficult, stage begins.”
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Juan Carlos López contributed reporting from Havana. Additional reporting from Michael Rios.
