A nationwide blackout struck Cuba in the early hours of Wednesday, plunging the island into darkness after the country’s largest thermal power plant, Antonio Guiteras, shut down. According to the Ministry of Energy and Mines, the power grid was disconnected at exactly 2:08 a.m. following the incident at the coal-fired facility. Efforts to restore electricity are currently underway, the ministry announced on social media.
This is not the first time the Antonio Guiteras plant has caused widespread outages. In mid-October, a similar failure at the same facility left the nation grappling with prolonged blackouts. The crisis brought daily life in the capital, Havana, to a near standstill, as schools were forced to close, public transportation halted, and even traffic lights stopped working.
Power was eventually restored to much of the country within a week. However, the fragile grid suffered another massive blow in early November when Hurricane Rafael battered the island, triggering a second nationwide blackout.
The ongoing issues with Cuba’s power grid highlight the challenges facing the cash-strapped nation, which is heavily reliant on its aging coal-fired plants for electricity.
Stay informed with updates on this story and more by joining our WhatsApp channel:
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VabITrvEAKW7DSkTfP0J