The Capitol during Sunday’s blackout, in Havana, Cuba, before Tropical Storm Oscar made landfall. The restoration of electricity in affected areas of Cuba continues after Cuba’s Ministry of Energy and Mines reported a third total failure of the National Electric System (SEN) in less than three days. Photo by Ernesto Mastrascusa/EPA-EFE
Oct. 21 (UPI) — Tropical Storm Oscar doused Cuba on Monday, three days after a massive power failure plunged more than 10 million people into the dark as the island works to restore its decades-old power grid.
Cuba’s state-run utility, the Electric Union, said it was generating only 200 megawatts of electricity Monday to service part of six provinces, including 90% of Havana, after the poorly maintained power grid collapsed Friday and three more times over the weekend. It takes 3,000 megawatts to power the country.
Tropical Storm Oscar, which made landfall Sunday near Baracoa — a coastal city in Guantánamo province — as a Category 1 hurricane, was crossing the eastern side of the island where power remained out.
The early loss of power before the storm hit made it difficult to warn citizens, especially those in rural areas, about any dangers as heavy rain and winds of up to 80 mph were forecast for the island’s second-largest city Santiago de Cuba and Las Tunas.
The National Hurricane Center reported Monday night that heavy rainfall from Oscar is continuing over eastern Cuba and the southeastern Bahamas.
“Maximum sustained winds are near 40 mph with higher gusts. Some slight strengthening is possible during the next day or so,” NHC wrote in its 8 p.m. EDT update.
The power failure has already taken a toll, leaving people without food refrigeration in preparation for the storm and without running water systems. Energy officials said they hope to have the power restored by Tuesday.
The failure of the 330-megawatt Antonio Guitars plant follows months of rolling blackouts on the island of 10 million residents, which Communist Party officials have blamed on increased demand amid a lack of fuel and crumbling infrastructure. The aging electric grid has been further taxed by the arrival of more than 100,000 new air conditioning units in the country over the past year.
The government has also restricted household power consumption and suspended all “non-essential work activities” while incentivizing remote work to conserve energy.
As Tropical Storm Oscar moves away from Cuba and toward the Bahamas this week, tourists are being warned to expect disruptions. Cruise ships, including Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Disney have adjusted routes and are canceling port stops as strong winds make docking “impossible.”
