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World News

Cuba government restores some power after two blackouts in 24 hours plunged island into darkness

By
Shane Galvin
Published Oct. 20, 2024, 2:05 a.m. ET

Cuba’s government reports it has made progress in re-establishing electrical service to parts of the island, which remains mostly shrouded in darkness.

Parts of the capital Havana and some hospitals have had their electricity restored after the national grid collapsed twice in a span of 24 hours, according to state-affiliated media.

Electricity officials at the state-owned grid operator UNE say they are working to raise enough capacity to start several power plants and eventually restore electricity to more parts of the country.

A man stands inside a lit up Cuba office building as the country gradually re-established electricity on the island on Oct. 19, 2024.
A man stands inside a lit-up office building in Havana, Cuba, as teams gradually restored electricity on the island on Oct. 19, 2024. REUTERS

“I cannot assure you that we will be able to complete linking the system today, but we are estimating that there should be important progress today,” head of UNE Lazaro Guerra said on a newscast, according to the Guardian.

Cuba’s electrical grid first collapsed midday Friday, leaving 10 million people without power. Life on the island came to a halt – with schools, workplaces and non-essential services all closed.

Guerra said on Friday that the first outage was due to increased demand.

Power came on in pockets of the island Friday evening and into Saturday. Then another collapse on Saturday afternoon which UNE officials have yet to explain publicly, the Guardian reports.

Residents sit outside near a candle waiting out the power outage.
Residents sit outside near a candle waiting out the power outage. AP
People walk through a Cuban street with a flashlight as the country was hit with power outages.
People walk through a Cuban street with a flashlight as the country was hit with power outages. AP

These blackouts come as Hurricane Oscar, a storm forming north of the nearby Dominican Republic – threatens to bring severe weather to eastern Cuba in the coming days, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

Most of the island remains in the dark as of early Sunday morning.