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Millions of Cubans still without power as crisis deepens

storyp1> HAVANA, Oct 20 (Reuters) Countless Cubans woke up on Sunday to find their homes still without power after another partial grid failure overnight, deepening a crisis that has raised questions over the practicality of the government's efforts to reestablish electrical service.

The country's leading electrical energy official, Lazaro Guerra, confirmed a partial grid collapse in the western provinces of Cuba, that includes Havana, late on Saturday.

Technicians were working to solve the issue, Guerra stated, but did not offer a timeline for when power would be restored to the region.

The capital of almost two million citizens seemed totally without electricity early on Sunday, as numerous Cubans formed lines for subsidized provisions and mulled the circumstance outside their homes.

State-run digital news outlet CubaDebate reported that the nation's largest power plant, Antonio Guiteras, was back online Sunday and would start contributing to a remediation of service over the course of the day.

A 3rd grid failure late on Saturday marked a significant problem in the government's efforts to quickly bring back power to tired locals already struggling with extreme scarcities of food, medication and fuel.

The clock was ticking as Hurricane Oscar bore down on northeastern Cuba early on Sunday, threatening to further complicate the government's plans to bring back power.

Cuba's meteorological survey alerted of an exceptionally hazardous scenario in eastern Cuba. The whole region was largely without electricity or interaction ahead of the storm, which packed winds as high as 100 miles per hour (161 kph) by midmorning Sunday.

Cuba's nationwide electrical grid initially crashed around midday on Friday after the island's largest power plant shut down, sowing turmoil. The grid collapsed again on Saturday morning, state-run media reported.

By early evening on Saturday, authorities reported some development bring back power before announcing another partial grid collapse.

The procedure of reestablishing the electrical system continues to be complicated, Cuba'senergy ministry stated on X.

RISING TENSIONS

Reuters reporters witnessed two little protests overnight after a grid failure left Havana in the dark late Saturday, one on the outskirts of the capital in Marianao and the other in the more central Cuatro Caminos. Various videos of protests in other places in the capital started to surface on social networks late on Saturday, though Reuters was not able to confirm their credibility.

Web traffic dropped off dramatically in Cuba on Saturday, according to information from web monitoring group NetBlocks, as large power interruptions made it all but impossible for most island residents to charge phones and get online.

Network information show that Cuba remains mainly offline as the island experiences a 2nd across the country power failure, Netblocks said on Saturday.

Even before the grid failures, an alarming electrical power shortage on Friday had required Cuba's Communist-run federal government to send non-essential state workers home and cancel school as it sought to conserve fuel.

The federal government has actually blamed weeks of aggravating blackouts - as long as 10 to 20 hours a day throughout much of the island - on degrading facilities, fuel scarcities and increasing demand.

Cuba likewise blames the U.S. trade embargo, along with sanctions set up by then-President Donald Trump, for continuous troubles in acquiring fuel and spare parts to operate and maintain its oil-fired plants.

The U.S. has actually rejected any role in the grid failures.

Cuba produces little of its own crude oil. Fuel deliveries to the island have dropped significantly this year as Venezuela, Russia and Mexico, as soon as essential suppliers, have minimized their exports to Cuba.

Ally Venezuela slashed by half its shipments of subsidized fuel to Cuba this year, forcing the island to search for more expensive oil on the spot market.


(source: Reuters)