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Cuba's life revolves around electricity: residents organize lives around power restoration
🇷🇸 Serbia /Energy & Infrastructure

Cuba's life revolves around electricity: residents organize lives around power restoration

From N1 Serbia · () Serbian

Translated from Serbian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Cuba faces severe electricity shortages due to U.S. sanctions blocking oil imports, leading to unpredictable outages.
  • Residents are adapting by planning daily life around unpredictable power restoration, often cooking or doing chores when electricity is available.
  • The blackouts cripple public transport, cultural events, tourism, and exacerbate shortages of medicine and food, impacting daily life and the economy.

For Cubans, the return of electricity, even for a few minutes, is a cause for immediate action. Leidis Rodriguez, 72, rushes to cook beans when power flickers on, knowing it might be the only chance for hours. Her daughter, Yaimara Matos, 41, describes the frantic rush to complete 10 hours of chores in just two hours when electricity is available.

it's a real miracle when the electricity comes on for 20 minutes – and that can happen, for example, around three in the morning.

— Norlys PerezDescribing the unpredictable nature of electricity supply in Cuba.

These unpredictable outages, a stark contrast to previous scheduled blackouts, have become the norm. The country has experienced six nationwide blackouts this year alone, with repairs often taking days. The situation stems from a deteriorating power grid, decades of U.S. sanctions, and failed economic reforms, exacerbated by U.S. threats to penalize countries supplying oil to Cuba.

The consequences extend beyond daily chores. Public transportation grinds to a halt, cultural events are canceled, and the vital tourism sector has collapsed, leaving 25,000 hospitality jobs vacant. Commercial flights are frequently canceled, and work hours are shortened to accommodate the new reality. Medicine shortages have worsened, and food spoils in non-functioning refrigerators.

you want to do everything at the same time

— Yaimara MatosExplaining the frantic rush to complete chores when electricity is available.

Rodriguez also points out the critical link between power and water: "When there is no electricity, there is no water, because there is nothing to power the pumps. And when there is water, there is no electricity." Despite these hardships, Cubans are resourceful. Many, like Rodriguez and Matos, have invested in generators, while others rely on solar panels sent by relatives abroad or battery-powered fans and solar-powered vehicles. Ljanet Barozo has even switched from cooking with gas to using firewood.

When there is no electricity, there is no water, because there is nothing to power the pumps. And when there is water, there is no electricity.

— Leidis RodriguezHighlighting the interconnected problems caused by power outages.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by N1 Serbia in Serbian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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