Millions of Cubans in the dark as plant failure triggers nationwide blackout

A power plant failure in Cuba has plunged millions into darkness after it triggered a nationwide blackout Friday, shuttering schools and bringing public transport to a halt in the capital Havana. The island country is currently facing its worst economic crisis in thirty years, marked by inflation and food shortages.

Cuba was racing Friday to restore electricity after the failure of the island's biggest power plant caused a nationwide blackout, coming on the heels of weeks of extended outages across the cash-strapped country.

The capital Havana came to a virtual standstill as schools closed, public transport ground to a halt and traffic lights stopped functioning.

The head of electricity supply at the energy ministry, Lazara Guerra, said the process of restoring power to communist Cuba's 11 million inhabitants was in its early stages.

"Currently, we have some level of electricity generation" that will be used to start up power plants in several regions of the country, he added.

Guerra previously told state media that the power system had collapsed due to the unexpected shutdown of the Antonio Guiteras power plant, the biggest of the island's eight decrepit coal-fired power plants.

The government on Thursday suspended all non-essential public services in order to prioritize electricity supply to homes.


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