Cuba Plunged into Darkness: National Electricity System Collapses

A total connection loss in Cuba's national power grid has left the island nation of 10 million people in the dark, including the capital Havana. The energy crisis in Cuba has reached its peak. Ministry of Energy teams have started emergency work to put the power grid system back online. However, after three major nation-wide power outages in July, this latest collapse has increased anxiety among the population. 'A large-scale power outage occurred in five states the day before, and the national grid collapsed shortly after the fault was repaired.' This energy crisis, happening during a heatwave, has caused water pumps to fail and food cooling systems to stop. The Cuban energy disaster, combined with infrastructure deficiencies, has paralyzed daily life. The country's reliance on outdated and poorly maintained oil-fired thermal power plants is cited as the main reason for the failures. 'Lack of maintenance, lack of spare parts, and the sharp decline in fuel entering the country have locked the system.' The cessation of shipments from Venezuela, the country's main oil supplier, and the halt of imports from Mexico due to the US oil embargo have exacerbated the crisis. US sanctions have severely restricted the Havana administration's access to fuel import sources.