Cuba is dealing with a big power problem. On Oct 17 2024‚ a lot of people lost electricity. By the next day‚ the whole island had no power. Its been a couple of days‚ and some folks got their lights back on Oct 19. But nobody knows when everyone will have power again.
Heres whats going on:
The power went out cause a big power plant (called Antonio Guiteras) stopped working. Its in Matanzas Province‚ which is east of Havana. This blackout is really bad – worse than usual. Cuba often has power problems‚ but this time its different.
While trying to fix the power Cuba also has to watch out for a hurricane. Theyʼre keeping an eye on the eastern parts of the country cause Hurricane Oscar (the 10th one this year) might be coming.
The government says the blackout happened cause:
- More people and businesses are using air conditioners
- Old power plants arenʼt working well
- They dont have enough money to fix things cause of U.S. rules
- There isnt enough fuel for some power places
Cuba has had big power problems before. About 2 years ago Hurricane Ian messed things up‚ and it took days to fix. This time‚ its not cause of a storm – which makes it unusual.
When the power goes out people sometimes get mad. A few years back‚ in July 2021 there were big protests. The government got in trouble for how they handled it. There were also smaller protests in October 2022 and March this year.
We are devoting absolute priority to addressing and solving this highly sensitive energy contingency
The government is trying to fix things. Theyre:
- Using different ways to make power for some areas
- Starting up a gas power plant
- Working on a plan to use more sun power
They hope to have 31 new sun power places ready next year. For now‚ everyoneʼs just waiting for the lights to come back on