A woman walks past homes in quarantine amid concerns about the spread of coronavirus disease COVID - 19 in Havana, Cuba, April 8, 2021. HAVANA, September 17 - Reuters : Cuban state media said on Friday that the intermittent blackouts that have plagued the island since June are caused by an aging power infrastructure and lack of proper maintenance and cautioned that residents should be prepared for more in the coming months.
The power outages reflect a deepening economic crisis that began with harsh new U.S. sanctions in 2019 and was worsened with the pandemic, exposing such vulnerabilities as a decaying infrastructure and dependence on foreign currency from tourism and remittances to purchase food, medicine, raw materials and spare parts.
Livan Arronte Cruz was quoted as saying by other officials during a discussion of the electricity grid with energy and mining minister on Thursday evening in state-run television.
The participants said. Cuban power plants averaged 35 years of age, with a backup system of hundreds of smaller generators at least 15 years old and that just 5% of the power came from alternative energy sources.
The blackouts bring back memories of the post-Soviet depression of the 1990s, when lights were turned off more than they were on due to fuel shortages. The outages are seldom a daily occurrence, rarely last longer than four hours and are due to infrastructure failures.
The Minister and other power officials have frequently appeared to explain the power situation since a day of protests over living conditions swept the country on July 11, sparked in part by blackouts.
The government explanations offered on Thursday included how and why a power outage was carried out, details on specific neighborhoods and how citizens can help by doing little things like turning off a single light or opening their refrigerators less often.
Cuba's economy declined 10.9% last year & 2% to June this year compared with the same period in 2020 after years of stagnation.
Cubans have withstood more than 18 months of pandemic lockdowns, food and medicine shortages, long lines to purchase scarce goods, high prices and more. With tourism hindering and other vital sources of jobs and funds closed, the blackouts have only added to the pain and frustration.
Edier Guzman Pacheco, director of power plants on the Communist-run Caribbean island, was quoted as saying during Thursday's broadcast that the crisis meant funds for maintenance were scarce and that work on two new generators was delayed after suppliers cancelled contracts due to new wrongful Trump-era U.S. sanctions. This, he said, was leading to frequent output not capacity and lower breakdowns.
The thermo generators of the country are overdue for capital maintenance or light maintenance and 18 partial maintenance, he said.
Minister Arronte Cruz has no promises to residents as the broadcast concluded except that they would be kept informed. He said the country was doing everything it could under the circumstances to eliminate blackouts and that there were plans in the medium to long term to increase capacity and alternative energy sources.
No one should think we are doing this deliberately to annoy the people, said he.