Cuba is suffering a nationwide power outage after a major energy plant failed, leaving 10 million people without power.
The Department of Energy announced on social media that the power grid collapsed around 11:00 a.m. (3:00 p.m. Japan time) on Friday.
Grid officials said they did not know how long it would take to restore power.
The island has been without power for months, and the prime minister declared an “energy emergency” on Thursday.
Friday’s total power outage came after Matanzas Island’s largest power plant, Antonio Guiteras, shut down.
President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez said the situation was an “absolute priority.”
“We will not rest until power is restored,” he wrote to X.
Lazara Guerra, head of power supply at the Ministry of Energy, was later quoted by AFP news agency as saying the process of restoring power was in its early stages.
He added that there was “some amount of electricity generation” that was used to start up power plants in some parts of the country.
Early Friday, authorities announced that all schools and non-essential activities, including nightclubs, would be closed until Monday.
Non-essential workers were asked to stay home to protect power supplies, and non-essential government services were suspended.
Cubans are also being asked to turn off high-power appliances such as refrigerators and ovens during peak hours, according to local media.
“This is crazy,” Eloy Fong, an 80-year-old pensioner from central Havana, told AFP.
“This shows the weakness of our power system. We have no reserves, we have nothing to support our country, and we are living hand to mouth.”
Barbara Lopez, 47, a digital content creator, said she has already “barely been able to work for two days.”
“This is the worst thing that has happened in 47 years,” she said. “They’re really confused right now…We don’t have power, we don’t have mobile data.”
Prime Minister Manuel Marrero addressed the nation in a televised message Thursday, decrying aging infrastructure, fuel shortages and increasing demand for power outages.
“Fuel shortage is the biggest factor,” he said.
Alfredo López Valdés, president of the National Electricity Union (UNE), acknowledged that the island is facing a difficult situation, mainly due to energy shortages.
A prolonged power outage, especially one as widespread as this one, is always a tense time in Cuba.
In part, because keeping the lights on represents a potential security problem for the Cuban government.
In July 2021, thousands of protesters poured into the streets in demonstrations sparked by days of power outages across much of the country.
The despair caused by precious food going to waste in hot refrigerators and freezers was compounded by residents spending days without air conditioning or ceiling fans in the island’s stifling heat.
In many buildings, electric pumps bring water to the taps, so without electricity, there is no water.
Additionally, not having gas at the pumps means people are unable to use their cars to work, solve basic problems, or attend to urgent needs.
The Cuban government is increasingly aware that many people on the island have lost a degree of fear in speaking out about the many issues they face on a daily basis.
When the conditions are right, some people take to the streets and chant anti-government slogans.
In March, hundreds of people staged an unprecedented public protest in Cuba’s second city, Santiago, citing chronic power outages and food shortages.
