Cuba Faces Widespread Blackouts as Power Grid Crisis Deepens

The government suspends schools and non-essential work to conserve electricity as millions endure extended outages and worsening shortages.

Cuba has shut down schools and non-essential work activities on Friday and Saturday to reduce electricity consumption during a severe power grid crisis.
Only six of the country's 15 oil-fired power plants are operational, with fuel shortages preventing the use of backup diesel generators.
Residents in Havana report outages lasting 6-10 hours, while some rural areas experience blackouts of up to 30 hours a day.
The blackouts exacerbate existing hardships, including shortages of food, fuel, and medicine, prompting over a million Cubans to leave the island since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cuban officials attribute the crisis to U.S. trade sanctions and reduced oil imports from Venezuela, Russia, and Mexico, but expect slight improvements in electricity supply over the weekend.