Massive power outage hits Cuba’s western region after transmission line fails

HAVANA AP A blackout hit Havana and the rest of the western half of Cuba on Wednesday leaving millions of people without power on an island struggling with chronic outages blamed on a crumbling electric grid L zaro Guerra general director of the Ministry of Power and Mines noted the massive outage was caused by a failure on a transmission line that connects two major plants The power grid was operational once again by Wednesday afternoon but the administration warned that the restoration of electricity would not be immediate and that generation deficits persisted The nearly -hour blackout snarled sessions in the capital and beyond In Havana dozens of police officers tried to direct traffic while a great number of students who were already in school were sent back home Small businesses that have generators resumed their sales especially of food Particular areas had intermittent internet system so countless residents were left wondering what had happened There s no connection No one knows why the power is out They re not saying anything it s all silence grumbled Ra l Calder n an -year-old retiree as he waited to hear official reports on the radio The outage followed two days of peak-hour power shortages across the island A total blackout hit Cuba in September with authorities blaming aging infrastructure and fuel shortages at power plants The ongoing outages also affect water utility and impact the island s fragile business sector Things are bad The power plants are emerging down a lot I have two children and food is hard to come by announced Liubel Quintana a -year-old cafe owner It s very tough everywhere you look Cuba is going through a severe economic dilemma that deepened during the coronavirus pandemic which paralyzed the key tourism sector and was exacerbated by an increase in U S sanctions and a failed internal financial modification to unify the currency Meanwhile thermal power plants have been operating for over years and receive little maintenance which is expensive for Cuban budgets The lack of maintenance coupled with fuel shortages due to either a lack of funds or the fact that ships are targeted by U S sanctions threatens the country s power generation The regime has implemented a solar park venture with Chinese and Vietnamese sponsorship but it is still in its early stages The eastern half of Cuba also has been struggling with power outages after Hurricane Melissa slammed into that region in late October While no fatalities were shared on the island thousands of Cubans in the eastern region remained without power water or proper shelter for nearly a month after the storm hit