Without air conditioning, electricity and water: Cuba paralysed by CHP plant failure (photos)
21 October 16:40For the fourth day in a row, Cuba has been unable to restore the power grid after an accident. This is reported by Komersant Ukrainian with reference to CNN.
It is known that a complete power outage occurred in Cuba after one of the thermal power plants stopped working.
“Following an unforeseen failure of the Antonio Gutierrez thermal power plant, a complete blackout of the national electricity system occurred at 11 a.m. local time today,” the Cuban Ministry of Energy and Mines said on 18 October.
The situation was made worse by the fact that the Antonio Gutierrez thermal power plant is the main power plant that supplies the island with electricity. Due to its failure, schools were closed in Cuba and all entertainment events were cancelled. Traffic lights were replaced by traffic controllers on the streets.
on 19 October, the Cuban grid operator UNE announced at 6:15 a.m. a “complete shutdown of the national electricity system”. The grid operator did not provide information on what caused the repeated failure of the network or how long it would take to restore operations.
Meanwhile, tour operators expect mass cancellations and postponements of trips to Cuba. Holidaymakers on the island complain about broken lifts in hotels and the inability to turn on the air conditioning despite the 30-degree heat.
The situation with the almost complete power outage on the island has been complicated by problems with the water supply. Water was cut off in many buildings in the Cuban capital.
on 20 October, it was reported that the main Cuban power plant had fully resumed its work.
It is worth noting that the electricity problems in Cuba worsened last week, with millions of people left without power and the authorities asking workers to stay at home. The infrastructure at the power plants is also outdated, and 40% of the country’s fuel tanks were destroyed in 2022 after a fire at the Matanzas oil depot.