Cuba is experiencing a nationwide power outage for the third day in a row

The largest power plant in the Caribbean country had to be closed. Discontent appears to be growing among a population already suffering from food and fuel shortages.

Cubans are experiencing power outages across the country for the third day in a row. On Sunday evening, authorities said that efforts to restore supplies had failed for the third time, shortly before midnight. Millions of people spent the night in the dark. There was no power Sunday morning either. The power grid was cut for the first time on Friday due to overload. The largest power plant in decades had previously been closed due to malfunctions.

The population, already suffering from food and fuel shortages, appears to have become increasingly dissatisfied with the interruption of supplies. Reuters reporters monitored two smaller protests overnight, one in Marianao and the other in the Cuatro Caminos district of Havana. Various videos of protests in other parts of the capital appeared on social media late Saturday evening, but Reuters was unable to verify their authenticity.

Civil servants are sent home

On Friday, the government was already forced to send civil servants home and close schools to save fuel. In Cuba, electricity is generated mainly in oil-fired power plants. However, oil shipments from friendly Venezuela are at a standstill.

The Cuban Energy Ministry said work was underway to restore electricity. “The process of restoring the electrical system is still complex,” the ministry said in SMS service X.

Aging infrastructure and increasing demand

The government attributes weeks-long regional power outages, lasting 10 to 20 hours a day, to aging infrastructure, fuel shortages and high demand. The Communist government also blames the US trade embargo for difficulties in obtaining fuel and spare parts. The United States denies having anything to do with the power outage. (Reuters)