21 October 2024
Cuba is still struggling to restore power across the island following a two-day nationwide collapse in the electricity supply to the national grid.
On 18 October, and then again on 19 October, the whole island was plunged into darkness with technicians trying but failing to gradually start up and link the country’s aging power plants to the grid.
As Cuba Briefing went to press on Monday morning, power had only begun to come back slowly in a very limited way in some parts of the country including Havana. On Sunday 20 October Cuban reporting made clear the process of recovery will be slow, and hugely complex and difficult, creating challenging logistical issues as well as social and political pressure on government.
To make matters worse, as new problems associated with restoring the power supply emerged, civil defence preparations had to be activated across the country as Hurricane Oscar, a category one storm, began to make landfall near Baracoa, Guantanamo, potentially affecting the eastern provinces of the country.
Following a meeting of Cuba’s National Defence Council on Sunday, President Díaz-Canel said that work continues to ensure greater energy stability but stressed that the island cannot operate its power plant at its full capacity without stable fuel supplies. Cuba, he said, is experiencing an exceptional situation, marked by two fundamental and complex events, “an energy emergency and a cyclonic alarm related to the country’s eastern provinces.”
Cubadebate quoted him as saying after the meeting that work continues on “stabilising the system and managing to obtain fuel supplies that will allow us to work in a better situation during the next few weeks.” He also noted that efforts are being made to obtain spare parts to gradually recover distributed generation.
Highlights in this issue:
- Unión Eléctrica technicians trying to restore supply
- Overall short to medium term power outlook remains challenging
- FIHAV 2024 to be “austere, decent and dignified”
- Agriculture minister says 40% of land granted for crops is being used for housing
- Russian Bailiff Service helping Cuba improve compliance with law
Speaking about Hurricane Oscar, Díaz-Canel stressed: “Due to the complexity of the situation, it has been decided to activate the entire structure of the defence councils in all provinces, because although there are five or six that could be affected by the cyclone, the rest are also affected by the energy emergency.”
Referring to social stability, he said that “the only thing that contradicts this determination of unity of our people is that on occasions, particularly last night (Saturday), a small number of people, most of them in a state of intoxication …. [had] …. tried to provoke disturbances of public order, they have tried to commit vandalism and disturb the peace of our people.” He also warned about what he described as “the opportunity” being taken by those “who are working under the guidance given to them by the operators of the Cuban counterrevolution from abroad.”
“The revolution will never tolerate this type of conduct and that any such behaviour will be addressed with the corresponding rigor. There is a great capacity from the Party and other organisations to respond to the concerns of the population, as long as it is done in a decent, organised, civilised and disciplined manner,” he said. “We will not allow anyone to act in such a way as to provoke acts of vandalism, much less disturb the peace of our people,” Cuba’s official media quoted him as saying.
21 October 2024, Issue 1253
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