A few things to know after millions of people in Cuba were left without electricity for two days when the nation's electrical grid collapsedWhat to know about the electrical grid failure that plunged Cuba into darknessHAVANA -- Millions of people in Cuba were left without electricity for two days after the nation's energy grid went down when one of the island's major power plants failed. Even in a country that for decades has been accustomed to frequent outages amid a series of economic crises, the grid failure was unprecedented in modern times, aside from incidents involving powerful hurricanes, such as one in 2022. But problems in the electrical grid have helped sparked street protests several times in recent years, including large demonstrations in July 2021 that led to international criticism of the government for its harsh response. Cuba gets its power from huge thermoelectric plants like Antonio Guiteras and some smaller ones, which require crude oil to operate. Authorities have been working since last year on a project to upgrade the island’s electrical grid through the use of alternative power sources.

Source: ABC News October 20, 2024 01:58 UTC