A power outage struck most of Cuba, including Havana, the state electric utility said on Wednesday (5 March), as the Communist-run government grapples with increased pressure from the Trump administration that has curtailed oil shipments.
The electric company Union Electrica UNE said the blackout was caused by an unexpected outage at Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant about 100 km (62 miles) east of Havana, cutting electricity from Pinar del Rio in the far west to central-eastern Camaguey province.
Power was also out in eastern Las Tunas province as substations there malfunctioned, a company official told state television, leaving only the far eastern provinces with electricity.
Repairs to the Guiteras generating station could take three to four days, the regional newspaper Giron reported, citing Roman Perez, technical director of the plant.
"The main objective is to reduce water consumption by eliminating the malfunction in the boiler's superheater and other existing leaks," Giron quoted Perez as saying.
Cuba has experienced a series of major blackouts in recent years, even before U.S. actions to cut off oil shipments, particularly from top supplier Venezuela after Washington's ouster of leader Nicolas Maduro in early January.
Cuba's government has attributed its economic crisis to decades of economic sanctions from the U.S., contributing to the lack of investment in power generation and the electric grid.
People in Havana, accustomed to rolling power outages associated with state rationing, mostly took the blackout in stride. Some traffic lights and businesses were operational due to solar panels or power generators.
"The SEN (electrical grid) going dark should not be considered normal," said Arian Mendoza, 28, an engineer living in Havana. "I don't think it's right."
The outage briefly took Cuban state TV off the air. Its 1 p.m. national news broadcast started more than half an hour after the normal air time, with a presenter explaining the delay was due to the blackout.
"We can't communicate, we don't know what's on the news because we can't turn on the TV," said Angeli Aviles, 18, a student in Havana.
The Felton 1 thermoelectric power plant, located in Holguin province in eastern Cuba, remained online, Cuba's energy ministry said.
The fuel scarcity has caused Cuba's government to ration key services, such as trash collection and transportation. Some residents have installed solar panels on homes and vehicles to keep power running amid soaring fuel prices.
Mexico, an alternate supplier to Venezuela, said it would halt supplies after the U.S. threatened tariffs on countries supplying Cuba with oil.
Tensions across the Middle East continue to escalate following coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory att...
More than 200 people died on Tuesday in a landslide triggered by heavy rains at the Rubaya coltan mine in easte...
Iran launched a wave of missiles at Israel early on Thursday, sending millions of residents into bomb shelters ...
Iranian sailors who survived a U.S. submarine strike in the Indian Ocean were recovering at a hospita...
A power outage struck most of Cuba, including Havana, the state electric utility said on Wednesday (5 Marc...
Tensions across the Middle East continue to escalate following coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory attacks in the Gulf region, with military operations and regional security developments continuing to unfold.
More than 200 people died on Tuesday in a landslide triggered by heavy rains at the Rubaya coltan mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the country's mines ministry said on Wednesday.
Iran launched a wave of missiles at Israel early on Thursday, sending millions of residents into bomb shelters as the U.S.-Israel war with Iran entered its sixth day and just hours after moves to halt the U.S. air assault were blocked in Washington.
Iranian sailors who survived a U.S. submarine strike in the Indian Ocean were recovering at a hospital in the Sri Lankan port city of Galle, authorities said on Thursday (5 March), a day after at least 87 were killed in the attack.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. military has enough stockpiled weapons to fight wars "forever"; in a social media post late on Monday. The remarks came hours before conflict in Iran and the Middle East entered its fourth day.
U.S. first lady, Melania Trump chaired a UN Security Council meeting on children and education in conflict on Monday (2 March), a move criticised by Iran as hypocritical following U.S. and Israeli strikes that triggered a UN warning about risks to children.
A torpedo from a U.S. submarine sunk an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth told reporters as the Iranian conflcit entered its fifth day on Wednesday.
Shahid Motahari Sub-Speciality Hospital in northern Tehran and parts of the Golestan Palace were bombed on day two of the U.S.‑Israel strikes. AnewZ Touraj Shiralilou is in Iran's capital city and said that the facility was flattened in an airstrike.
At least 42 people have been killed and 104 wounded in fighting between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said on Tuesday. The latest death toll figures come as fighting between the two neighbours enters its sixth day.
More than 200 people died on Tuesday in a landslide triggered by heavy rains at the Rubaya coltan mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the country's mines ministry said on Wednesday.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 4th of February, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Strikes across the Middle East are intensifying, fuelling travel disruption, driving up global energy prices and forcing diplomatic missions to shut their doors.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said the United States has a “virtually unlimited supply” of munitions and is capable of sustaining military action indefinitely, as the conflict with Iran entered its fourth day.
The United Nations has called for an investigation into a deadly attack on a girls’ primary school in Iran, which Iranian officials say has killed more than 100 children. The U.S. has said its forces “would not” deliberately target a school.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment