Many Cubans remained without electricity for a consecutive day on Saturday. However, similar to the previous significant blackouts over the last six months, people are adapting--albeit with a sense of inevitability.
The recent power outage started late Friday at a substation close to Havana before expanding across the country, impacting most of the financially strained island's 9.7 million inhabitants.
On Saturday, officials stated they were endeavoring to reinstate electricity.
Meanwhile, Cubans were making the most of their situation.
Jorge Suarez, a 47-year-old attorney, visited a private bar in Havana for a drink. The establishment remained operational with the help of a compact generator.
He said to AFP, 'One gets accustomed to these conditions.' It’s similar to how animals living in deserts must adapt to survive without water.
All we can do now is adapt and await intervention from the government, as resolving this issue falls within their jurisdiction.
Adela Alba, who is 37 years old, runs the place, which functions both as an eatery and a grocery store.
"It’s extremely challenging to work under these conditions,” she remarked. “Electricity is crucial for every task.”
Her modest generator assists in keeping at least some basic services running since they still need to cover rent and taxes amid these circumstances, she explained.
Cubans have been enduring a severe economic downturn characterized by pervasive scarcity of food, fuel, and medicines. The country’s outdated and frequently malfunctioning power infrastructure has exacerbated these difficulties.
Ariel Mas Castellanos, an official from the electric company in Havana, stated to local media that the faulty equipment "has been operational for several years and is now showing signs of wear and tear."
On Saturday, officials stated that parallel circuits were assisting in supplying electricity to critical areas such as hospitals, along with certain neighborhoods.
"Certain provinces now feature parallel circuits, and generator units are beginning to sync with the national grid," stated Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on X.
Silvia Torres, a 64-year-old inhabitant of the Las Tunas province located in eastern Cuba, resides in an area that receives benefits from the alternative electrical systems.
"Praise be to God, we rose to illumination... a gift since I am aware that numerous regions remain without light," she shared with AFP via telephone.
On Friday night, an outage left the streets of Havana shrouded in darkness, causing residents to rely on their phones and flashlights for navigation.
Many parts of Cuba's main city experience daily electricity shortages lasting four to five hours, with disruptions extending up to 20 hours or longer in rural areas.
In February, officials halted all operations on the island for two days to prevent a large-scale power outage.
In the last quarter of 2024, two service disruptions occurred, lasting multiple days each, with one happening coincidently during a hurricane.
"Giving us strength, our nation seems to be deteriorating further," remarked 82-year-old Havana resident Xiomara Castellanos on Saturday. She expressed concern that the food in her fridge could go bad.
Nearly all of the nation's eight thermal power plants, which were mostly built in the 1980s or 1990s, face frequent breakdowns.
Mobile Turkish energy vessels along with several generators support the country’s power grid, yet the US embargo imposed from 1962 onward complicates fuel imports.
The administration is hurriedly working towards establishing at least 55 solar parks within this year -- a move they claim will meet approximately 12 percent of the country’s energy requirements.
