Cuba experienced a nationwide blackout after the main power plant in the country failed, leaving 10 million people without electricity.
According to BBC, the energy ministry of the island in a social media post announced that the power grid collapsed at around 11:00 (15:00 GMT) on Friday, October 18, 2024, a day after the Cuban prime minister declared an “energy emergency” in the country.
Following the nationwide blackout, President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez said the situation was his “absolute priority,” adding, “There will be no rest until power is restored.”
Moreover, as per the officials, the island country began to slowly restore a trickle of power to its grid by mid-evening on Friday.
The vast majority of the population spent Friday night in the dark but some parts of the capital Havana, including some of the city's major hospitals, restored power shortly after the blackout.
A Brazilian tourist, Carlos Roberto Julio, who had recently arrived in Havana, said, “We went to a restaurant, and they had no food because there was no power. Now we are also without the internet. In two days, we have already had several problems.”
Furthermore, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero in a televised address on Thursday blamed deteriorating infrastructure, fuel shortages, and rising demand for electricity failures.
