By Zoila Palma: Millions of people across Cuba were left without electricity on Friday after the country’s entire power grid suffered a “total disconnection,” triggering another nationwide blackout.
Cuba’s Energy Ministry said the outage began shortly before 2 p.m. local time, while grid operator UNE attributed it to a transmission fault compounded by poor weather conditions in central Cuba.
Power was gradually restored to some priority areas later in the evening, including locations near hospitals and water-pumping stations in Havana, BBC reports.
UNE said protocols for the “gradual restoration” of electricity were activated, with the process continuing into Saturday. The blackout marks at least the sixth partial or total nationwide power failure reported in Cuba this year.
Cuba’s already strained electricity system has been affected by ageing infrastructure, chronic fuel shortages and difficulties securing imported oil.
The government has blamed US sanctions and restrictions on oil shipments for worsening the crisis, while Washington has attributed the energy problems to poor internal management. The shortages have also affected access to water, cooking gas, food and medicine, with hospitals, schools and government offices facing disruptions.
The post International News: Cuba plunged into nationwide blackout, leaving millions without power appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Zoila Palma: Millions of people across Cuba were left without electricity on Friday after the country’s entire power grid suffered a “total disconnection,” triggering another nationwide blackout. Cuba’s Energy Ministry said the outage began shortly before 2 p.m. local time, while grid operator UNE attributed it to a transmission fault compounded by poor weather
The post International News: Cuba plunged into nationwide blackout, leaving millions without power appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
