Latest news with #AbelBonne
Fox News
15-03-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Cuba still largely without power after nationwide grid collapse
Cuba remained largely without power on Saturday morning, after the island nation's grid collapsed the night before, knocking out electricity for 10 million people and raising fresh questions about the viability of its antiquated generating system. At sunrise, the island's grid operator UNE said it was generating only a trickle of electricity - around 225 MW, or less than 10% of total demand, enough to cover some vital services like hospitals, water supply and food production centers. Officials said they had begun the process of firing up the country's decades-old generation plants, but gave no timeline for restoring service. Cuba´s grid failed Friday evening around 8:15 p.m. (0015 GMT) after an aging component of a transmission line at a substation in Havana shorted, beginning a chain reaction that completely shut down power generation across the island, UNE officials said. The grid collapse follows a string of nationwide blackouts late last year that plunged Cuba's frail power generating system into near-total disarray, stressed by fuel shortages, natural disaster and economic crisis. Most Cubans outside the country's capital of Havana have already been living for months with rolling blackouts that peaked at 20 hours a day in recent weeks. Havana was still largely without electricity on Saturday morning. Light traffic navigated intersections with no functioning stoplights and cellular internet was weak or non-existent in some areas. Abel Bonne chatted with friends on Havana's Malecon waterfront boulevard early Saturday, taking in the fresh sea breeze after a stuffy night without power. "Right now, no one knows when the power will come back on," he said. "This is the first time this had happened this year, but last year it happened three times." Severe shortages of food, medicine and water have made life increasingly unbearable for many Cubans, and people have been fleeing the island in recent years in record-breaking numbers. Cuba blames its economic woes on a Cold War-era U.S. trade embargo, a web of laws and regulations that complicate financial transactions and the acquisition of essentials like fuel and spare parts. A grid official on Saturday morning said Cuba had been unable to update antiquated transmission and generation components because of the restrictions. U.S. President Donald Trump recently tightened sanctions on the island's communist-run government, vowing to restore a "tough" policy toward the long-time U.S. foe. Havana resident Yunior Reyes, a bike taxi driver, was back on the job Saturday morning despite the blackout, fretting that his food reserves might spoil in the day's heat. "We're all in the same situation," he said. "It's a lot of work."
Al Jazeera
15-03-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Huge power outage in Cuba leaves millions in darkness
Cuba's national power grid has collapsed once again, leaving millions of people without electricity. The grid failed on Friday evening about 8:15pm (00:15 GMT) after a breakdown at Diezmero substation in the capital, Havana, kicked off a chain reaction that shut down power generation across the island, according to officials at operator Union Electrica (UNE). At sunrise on Saturday, UNE said it was generating only a trickle of electricity – about 225 MW, or less than 10 percent of total demand. Authorities said parallel circuits were helping provide electricity to key sectors, such as hospitals. 'Several provinces have parallel circuits and generator units are starting to be synchronised' with the national grid, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on X. The island of 9.7 million inhabitants had already suffered three nationwide blackouts in the final months of 2024, two of them lasting several days. While the latest grid collapse is the first one this year, it also comes as the island battles one of its biggest economic crises in 30 years. Hit by United States sanctions, Cuba has for years relied on subsidised Venezuelan oil, but that supply is increasingly precarious as the government in Caracas grapples with its own economic problems. 'Right now, no one knows when the power will come back on,' resident Abel Bonne told the Reuters news agency on Havana's Malecon waterfront boulevard early on Saturday. People in Havana have already been living with near-daily power cuts of four or five hours, while those outside the capital have been facing rolling blackouts that peaked at 20 hours a day in recent weeks. 'My God, this is terrible, we're in for a dark weekend,' Karen Gutierrez, a 32-year-old ice cream seller in Havana, told the AFP news agency. Andres Lopez, a 67-year-old resident of the eastern province of Holguin, added that he had not been expecting yet another blackout so soon. 'It really bugs me,' he said. 'Let's see when they get it [the power] back on.' Cuba blames its economic woes on a Cold War-era US trade embargo, a web of laws and regulations that complicate financial transactions and the acquisition of essentials such as fuel and spare parts. US President Donald Trump recently tightened sanctions on the island's communist-run government, pledging to restore a 'tough' policy towards the longtime US foe. Meanwhile, to make up for its electricity shortfall, Cuba is racing to install a series of at least 55 solar farms with Chinese technology by the end of this year. Local authorities have said these facilities will generate some 1,200 MW of power, about 12 percent of the national total.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cuba still largely without power after nationwide grid collapse
By Dave Sherwood HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba remained largely without power on Saturday morning after the island´s grid collapsed the night before, knocking out electricity for 10 million people and raising fresh questions about the viability of its antiquated generating system. At sunrise, the island's grid operator UNE said it was generating only a trickle of electricity - around 225 MW, or less than 10% of total demand, enough to cover some vital services like hospitals, water supply and food production centers. Officials said they had begun the process of firing up the country's decades-old generation plants, but gave no timeline for restoring service. Cuba´s grid failed Friday evening around 8:15 p.m. (0015 GMT) after an aging component of a transmission line at a substation in Havana shorted, beginning a chain reaction that completely shut down power generation across the island, UNE officials said. The grid collapse follows a string of nationwide blackouts late last year that plunged Cuba's frail power generating system into near-total disarray, stressed by fuel shortages, natural disaster and economic crisis. Most Cubans outside the capital Havana have already been living for months with rolling blackouts that peaked at 20 hours a day in recent weeks. Havana was still largely without electricity on Saturday morning. Light traffic navigated intersections with no functioning stoplights and cellular internet was weak or non-existent in some areas. Abel Bonne chatted with friends on Havana's Malecon waterfront boulevard early Saturday, taking in the fresh sea breeze after a stuffy night without power. "Right now, no one knows when the power will come back on," he said. "This is the first time this had happened this year, but last year it happened three times." Severe shortages of food, medicine and water have made life increasingly unbearable for many Cubans, and people have been fleeing the island in recent years in record-breaking numbers. Cuba blames its economic woes on a Cold War-era U.S. trade embargo, a web of laws and regulations that complicate financial transactions and the acquisition of essentials like fuel and spare parts. A grid official on Saturday morning said Cuba had been unable to update antiquated transmission and generation components because of the restrictions. U.S. President Donald Trump recently tightened sanctions on the island's communist-run government, vowing to restore a "tough" policy toward the long-time U.S. foe. Havana resident Yunior Reyes, a bike taxi driver, was back on the job Saturday morning despite the blackout, fretting that his food reserves might spoil in the day's heat. 'We're all in the same situation," he said. "It's a lot of work."
Reuters
15-03-2025
- Climate
- Reuters
Cuba still largely without power after nationwide grid collapse
HAVANA, March 15 (Reuters) - Cuba remained largely without power on Saturday morning after the island´s grid collapsed the night before, knocking out electricity for 10 million people and raising fresh questions about the viability of its antiquated generating system. At sunrise, the island's grid operator UNE said it was generating only a trickle of electricity - around 225 MW, or less than 10% of total demand, enough to cover some vital services like hospitals, water supply and food production centers. Officials said they had begun the process of firing up the country's decades-old generation plants, but gave no timeline for restoring service. Cuba´s grid failed Friday evening around 8:15 p.m. (0015 GMT) after an aging component of a transmission line at a substation in Havana shorted, beginning a chain reaction that completely shut down power generation across the island, UNE officials said. The grid collapse follows a string of nationwide blackouts late last year that plunged Cuba's frail power generating system into near-total disarray, stressed by fuel shortages, natural disaster and economic crisis. Most Cubans outside the capital Havana have already been living for months with rolling blackouts that peaked at 20 hours a day in recent weeks. Havana was still largely without electricity on Saturday morning. Light traffic navigated intersections with no functioning stoplights and cellular internet was weak or non-existent in some areas. Abel Bonne chatted with friends on Havana's Malecon waterfront boulevard early Saturday, taking in the fresh sea breeze after a stuffy night without power. "Right now, no one knows when the power will come back on," he said. "This is the first time this had happened this year, but last year it happened three times." Severe shortages of food, medicine and water have made life increasingly unbearable for many Cubans, and people have been fleeing the island in recent years in record-breaking numbers. Cuba blames its economic woes on a Cold War-era U.S. trade embargo, a web of laws and regulations that complicate financial transactions and the acquisition of essentials like fuel and spare parts. A grid official on Saturday morning said Cuba had been unable to update antiquated transmission and generation components because of the restrictions. U.S. President Donald Trump recently tightened sanctions on the island's communist-run government, vowing to restore a "tough" policy toward the long-time U.S. foe. Havana resident Yunior Reyes, a bike taxi driver, was back on the job Saturday morning despite the blackout, fretting that his food reserves might spoil in the day's heat.
