Cuba News: Nationwide Blackout Plunges Over 10 Million Citizens Into Darkness After Grid Failure at Antonio Guiteras Power Plant.
WHERE: Across Cuba, originating from the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant in Matanzas province.
WHEN: At approximately 11:00 a.m. local time on Friday, October 18, 2024.
WHO: Over 10 million Cuban citizens, overseen by the Ministry of Energy and Mines under the administration of President Miguel Díaz-Canel.
WHAT: A catastrophic failure of the nation’s primary power generation facility triggered a total collapse of the National Unified Electric System (SEN), resulting in a complete island-wide blackout. Authorities confirm the outage has disabled water pumps, halted public transportation, and suspended all non-essential government services.
WHY: Preliminary reports indicate a technical malfunction in the aging facility's electrical substation, compounded by a severe shortage of imported fuel and deferred infrastructure maintenance, which the government attributes to the U.S. trade embargo.
HOW: Engineers are currently attempting an emergency cold restart of the grid, a process officials warn could take up to 48 hours due to the requirement of synchronizing multiple isolated generation units without the typical power reserve. Citizens are urged to remain calm as hospitals rely on backup generators.