Nearly half of Cuba without power as blackouts deepen By Reuters

HAVANA (Reuters) – More than half of Cuba was without power on Thursday evening as fuel shortages and faulty power plants left the government with no choice but to black out much of the Caribbean island nation.

Cuba’s National Electric Union reported a shortfall of nearly 1,600 megawatts, with demand approaching 3,200 MW around dinnertime, leaving millions without lights, fans and air conditioning at nightfall.

Parts of Havana saw intermittent blackouts throughout the day, but some provinces, including Pinar del Rio, a key farm and tobacco-growing region, were without power for part of the evening.

The situation had improved by Friday morning, but authorities said in a daily report that nearly a third of the island would be gridlocked again as peak demand approached later in the day.

The recent surge follows months of hours-long power outages in Cuba as decrepit, decades-old oil-fired power plants fail repeatedly and the bankrupt communist-led government, weighed down by US sanctions, struggle to buy fuel on the global market. .

A looming economic crisis, including dire shortages of food, fuel and medicine, has prompted a record exodus of Cubans from the island, further deepening its woes.