{"id":2357145,"date":"2024-10-20T09:34:02","date_gmt":"2024-10-20T13:34:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-to-know-about-the-electrical-grid-failure-that-plunged-cuba-into-darkness-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-10-20T09:39:54","modified_gmt":"2024-10-20T13:39:54","slug":"what-to-know-about-the-electrical-grid-failure-that-plunged-cuba-into-darkness-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-to-know-about-the-electrical-grid-failure-that-plunged-cuba-into-darkness-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"What to know about the electrical grid failure that plunged Cuba into darkness &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhat-to-know-about-the-electrical-grid-failure-that-plunged-cuba-into-darkness-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2357145&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A major <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrat-rep-ro-khanna-we-dont-want-low-wage-small-businesses-that-pay-less-than-15-minimum-wage\/\" title=\"Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna: \u2018We Don\u2019t Want Low-Wage\u2019 Small Businesses That Pay Less Than  Minimum Wage\">electrical grid failure<\/a> in Cuba left millions without\u2064 power for two days, the worst blackout \u2064in years. The outage began after the Antonio \u200cGuiteras thermoelectric plant in Matanzas Province experienced a failure, leading to the entire island being \u200bplunged into darkness.\u2062 While some \u2062power was restored by Saturday, full recovery \u200dtimelines\u2064 remained unclear. The grid&#8217;s failure\u2062 was attributed to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/summer-power-blackouts-may-be-on-the-horizon\/\" title=\"Summer Power Blackouts May Be on the Horizon\">increased electricity demand<\/a> from air conditioning units and\u2063 a lack\u200c of maintenance on older plants due to economic constraints exacerbated by\u200b U.S. sanctions. Historically, \u200dCubans have faced frequent power outages, but the scale of this incident is notable, recalling previous crises triggered\u200c by severe weather events like Hurricane Ian in 2022. The situation has the potential \u2064for political repercussions, as past electrical issues \u2063have\u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/virginia-dems-balk-at-passing-major-gun-control-reforms-ahead-of-election\/\" title=\"Virginia Dems Balk at Passing Major Gun-Control Reforms Ahead of Election\u00a0\">sparked protests<\/a>. Authorities are considering changes to electricity rates for new small- and medium-sized businesses in response to the crisis. \u2063As the country \u2064braces for a developing \u200cHurricane Oscar, officials continue to address the power issues while\u2062 implementing emergency measures to manage demand.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">What to know about the electrical grid failure that plunged Cuba into darkness<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1839761\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>HAVANA (AP) &mdash;<\/strong> Millions of people in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Cuba\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Cuba<\/a> were left without electricity for two days after the nation&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nearly-half-of-texas-wind-turbines-frozen-in-winter-storm-limiting-states-power-output\/\" title=\"Nearly Half Of Texas\u2019 Wind Turbines Frozen In Winter Storm Limiting State\u2019s Power Output\">energy grid<\/a> went down when one of the island&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/video\/cuba-power-outages-general-news-cuba-government-bbacfef5a24d40b8abfed787fb514b39\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>major power plants failed.<\/a>&nbsp;The widespread blackout that swept across the county was the worst in years.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Authorities were able to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/cuba-power-outage-blackout-minister-8c1447bb14f4105f18317986fa949dc8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>restore power to some people<\/a>&nbsp;by Saturday, but it was unclear when the power would be fully restored across the country.<\/p>\n<p>Here are a few things to know:<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What happened and why?<\/h2>\n<p>About half of Cuba was plunged into darkness on Thursday evening, followed by the entire island on Friday morning after the failure of the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant in Matanzas Province east of Havana.<\/p>\n<p>Even in a country that for decades has been accustomed to frequent outages&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/cuba-food-subsidies-libreta-crisis-00f7a5b352514dd4449b99bb0d645384\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>amid a series of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hillary-im-thrilled-that-president-biden-is-taking-advantage-of-this-moment-to-try-to-push-the-agenda-as-far-as-possible\/\" title=\"Hillary: \u2018I\u2019m Thrilled That President Biden Is Taking Advantage Of This Moment To Try To Push the Agenda As Far As Possible\u2019\">economic crises<\/a>,<\/a>&nbsp;the grid failure was unprecedented in modern times, aside from incidents involving powerful hurricanes, such as one in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Even as Cuba worked to fix the power problems Saturday, the country issued hurricane watches for the far eastern Guantanamo, Holguin and Las Tunas provinces as a tropical storm developed into Hurricane Oscar, the 10th hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities said the outage that began Thursday stemmed from increased demand from small- and medium-sized companies and residences&rsquo; air conditioners &mdash; as many as 100,000 additional ones this year alone. They also blamed breakdowns in old thermoelectric plants that haven&rsquo;t been properly maintained because of a lack of hard currency due to U.S. sanctions, as well as insufficient fuel to operate some facilities.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Has this happened before?<\/h2>\n<p>While some homes have spent up to eight hours a day this year without electricity as the grid has grown more unstable, the current power failure is considered Cuba&rsquo;s worst in years.<\/p>\n<p>Officials said that 1.64 gigawatts went offline during peak hours, about half the total demand at the time. The government implemented emergency measures to slash demand, suspended classes, and shut down some state-owned workplaces and canceled non-essential services.<\/p>\n<p>Another major collapse occurred two years ago after Hurricane Ian, an intense Category 3 storm, damaged power installations and the government took days to fix them.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Any political consequences?<\/h2>\n<p>It&rsquo;s unknown how Cubans will react if the current blackout endures or recurs.<\/p>\n<p>But problems in the electrical grid have helped sparked street protests several times in recent years, including large demonstrations in July 2021 that led to international criticism of the government for its harsh response. There were also smaller demonstrations due to blackouts in October 2022 and March of this year.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities now say changes to electricity rates for small- and medium-sized companies, which have proliferated since they were&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/business-cuba-economy-small-business-69f693b97d920f5e9b43eb32087d862f\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>first authorized by the communist government in 2021<\/a>, are being considered.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What&rsquo;s next?<\/h2>\n<p>Officials said the state-owned power company UNE was using distributed generation to provide power to some areas of the island and that a gas-fired thermoelectric plant was starting operations.<\/p>\n<p>Cuba gets its power from huge thermoelectric plants like Antonio Guiteras and some smaller ones, which require crude oil to operate. The country produces about half of the crude needed, but must purchase some of the rest on the international market, which can be difficult and costly due to U.S. sanctions. It has also depended on allies like Venezuela and Russia for cheaper fuel.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/?d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title> <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Authorities have been working since last year on a project to upgrade the island&rsquo;s electrical grid through the use of alternative power sources. A project to build 31 centers generating solar energy is under way and projected to be completed next year.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We are devoting absolute priority to addressing and solving this highly sensitive energy contingency,&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/cuba-cabinet-economy-minister-fuel-prices-8f8e0619dadeb1e1ab2e3cc61c0fb2a7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Cuba&rsquo;s President Miguel D&iacute;az-Canel<\/a>&nbsp;wrote on X. &ldquo;There will be no rest until its restoration.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1839761\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1839761\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cuba faced a major blackout, leaving millions without power for two days after a key power plant failed. This was the worst outage in years<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2634,"featured_media":2357147,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/cuba-outage.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[13954,43364,39564],"class_list":["post-2357145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-cuba","tag-electrical-grid","tag-power-outage"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/cuba-outage.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2357145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2634"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2357145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2357145\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2357147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2357145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2357145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2357145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}