Cuba faces energy crisis as blackouts mirror South Africa's challenges

CUBA is facing its fourth significant blackout in just five months, a troubling scenario similar to that of close allies South Africa.

This latest lapse in electricity supply further exacerbates an already dire energy crisis, signalling an urgent need for reforms and international assistance in the Caribbean nation.

Residents of Havana and other major cities reported extensive power outages that lasted for several hours, disrupting daily life and prompting widespread complaints. Among those affected are shops, hospitals, and schools that rely heavily on consistent electricity supply.

The blackouts have sparked frustration and anger among the populace, many of whom are already grappling with the burdens of rising costs of living and dwindling resources.

Experts suggest that these blackouts are symptomatic of a fractured energy infrastructure struggling under the weight of years of neglect and lack of investment. The country relies predominantly on ageing fossil fuel power plants, many of which are forced to operate below optimal capacity due to a shortage of necessary components and fuel supplies.

Furthermore, the inefficiency of the distribution system aggravates the situation, leading to regular power outages that throw communities into darkness.

The incident was believed to be triggered by a breakdown at a power substation located in the Diezmero neighbourhood, south of Havana. The Ministry of Energy and Mines confirmed the situations’ origins, prompting Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz to assure citizens via X (formerly Twitter) that the government was “working tirelessly” to restore power.

By midnight, the first signs of recovery emerged as independent circuits began supplying electricity to essential areas like hospitals across various provinces. However, the streets of Havana were left in disarray once more, forcing residents to rely on flashlights and phone screens to traverse the darkened streets.

Among those expressing despair was 32-year-old ice cream vendor, Karen Gutierrez, who lamented: “My God, this is terrible; we’re in for a dark weekend,” articulating a sense of collective frustration resonating within the capital.

Angelica Caridad Martinez, a 50-year-old resident from Camaguey, was preparing for dinner when the outage struck. “I’m not even hungry anymore,” she said, adding, “this situation is unsustainable; no one can live like this.”

Similarly, 67-year-old Andres Lopez from Holguin voiced his annoyance, saying: “It really bugs me. Let’s see when they get it (the power) back on.”

This year alone, Cuba has endured three nationwide blackouts, with two of those lasting several days. These back-to-back outages come amid an alarming economic crisis, the worst the island has faced in three decades, marked by severe food and medicine shortages, skyrocketing inflation, and an unprecedented wave of emigration to the United States.

The electricity crisis is exacerbated by Cuba’s ageing infrastructure, with most of its thermal power plants, built in the 1980s and 1990s, suffering from routine failures.

Although Turkish floating power barges have been introduced to supplement the national grid, their reliance on costly imported fuel has failed to alleviate the situation, especially considering the precariousness of fuel availability.

The Ministry of Energy and Mines confirmed that this failure signalled the first general blackout of 2025, even as nearly daily outages lasting four to five hours had already persisted in Havana, with rural areas facing even longer interruptions, sometimes exceeding 20 hours.

Cuban authorities have regularly pointed to a six-decade-long US trade embargo as a significant contributor to the country’s energy woes, an issue compounded during Donald Trump’s presidency.

In response, the government is racing to complement the national grid with the installation of 55 solar farms employing Chinese technology, aiming for a total output of about 1 200 megawatts by year-end—around 12% of the nation’s electricity supply.

Parallels can be drawn with South Africa, where Eskom, the state-owned utility, is strategising to enhance electricity supply ahead of the winter season after suffering over 300 days of power cuts.

Eskom’s forthcoming winter plan underscores the critical importance of a reliable electricity supply—an issue that resonates not just in South Africa but globally. As Cubans prepare for yet another dark weekend, uncertainty looms over what measures the government will implement to restore stability to the country’s beleaguered energy sector.

Meanwhile, in South Africa, Eskom is set to unveil its winter plan in the coming weeks. Bheki Nxumalo, head of power generation, expressed optimism about reducing rolling blackouts this winter, citing the historical reduction in weather-related outages during the colder months.

Energy expert Ruse Moleshe noted that the company had been proactive in addressing maintenance issues among its power plants, emphasising the criticality of repairs for those taken offline earlier this year to meet the anticipated winter demand. "If everything else outside of the small issues goes well, I think that Eskom is very well prepared for our winter," Moleshe said.

As citizens in Cuba face yet another long weekend without power, the government is now compelled to implement effective strategies to bring its energy crisis under control.