Havana: Cuba has begun efforts to recover from its energy crisis after experiencing a second nationwide power outage in a week, a result of the U.S. government's oil import blockade. The Cuban government began efforts early Sunday to restore power after the country's electricity grid was shut down for the second time in a week due to a US blockade of oil shipments, severely impacting an already weakened energy infrastructure.
According to Thai News Agency, the Cuban Ministry of Energy and Mines stated that it had established small-scale closed-loop systems, or microsystems, in every province to power essential services such as hospitals, water, and food distribution, and was working to connect these systems. Two local gas-fired power plants have already resumed operation, and electricity is being sent to another oil-fired power plant to help stabilize the system.
Cuba's power grid collapsed Saturday evening local time after a major power plant in Nuvitas, Camague province, in eastern Cuba, malfunctioned and shut down on Saturday. This triggered a domino effect, causing a nationwide blackout affecting approximately 10 million people. Almost all mobile phone and internet services were also unavailable in many areas, leaving many people without any means of communication.
The power outage on Saturday was the third major blackout this month. Much of the system had already failed on March 4th, when a main thermal power plant malfunctioned, and the system completely collapsed on Monday for unknown reasons. While Cuba has experienced nationwide blackouts in recent years, two blackouts across the country in a week are highly unusual.
The energy crisis in Cuba erupted after U.S. President Donald Trump began implementing a blockade on oil shipments to Cuba, a Caribbean country, following the ousting of Venezuelan President Nicol¡s Maduro in early January. Since then, Trump has cut off oil exports from Venezuela to Cuba and threatened other countries with punitive tariffs if they sell oil to Cuba. Cuba has consistently blamed the U.S. trade sanctions for its economic failures, including an outdated electricity system.
The Cuban government recently stated its openness to negotiations with the United States, but only if there is no interference in internal affairs. Furthermore, the government will not negotiate the term of Cuban President Miguel Daz-Canel, whom the United States wants to step down before his term expires in 2028.