Millions of people in Cuba are without power after the country’s electrical grid collapsed for a second time on Wednesday, Dec. 4. Schools across the communist country were forced to close, and non-official workers were ordered to stay home.
Cuban Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy said the Matanzas power plant failed around 2 a.m. Wednesday. De la O Levy met with other government officials and said they’re prioritizing restoring power to hospitals, hoping to restore the grid by Thursday, Dec. 5.
“Tomorrow we’ll be able to have the conditions to get it working, to recover the system. We’ve already started the recovery process,” De la O Levy said.
The island’s oil-fired power plants had already been struggling with a fuel crisis earlier this year as oil imports from Venezuela, Russia, and Mexico dwindled, Reuters reports.
Millions across the island had already been enduring rolling blackouts over the last two months before Wednesday’s collapse.
Hurricane Oscar struck the island in October, and then Hurricane Rafael hit in November, knocking out the power grid and leaving the island reeling from damaged homes and buildings.
Along with power and gas shortages, Cubans also deal with food and medicine shortages. The lower quality of life has led to an exodus of Cubans leaving the island.
In July, The Miami Herald reported that 10%, or 10 million people, left Cuba between 2022 and 2023, marking the largest migration wave in Cuban history. More than 645,000 sought asylum through the U.S. southern border.
The extent of the current power outage is unknown.
Some government buildings in the capital, Havana, had power Wednesday morning, but the city was mainly in the dark.
