Authorities in Cuba have suffered a third convey inant setback to restoring power, leaving millions in the unelated.
The country’s national grid crashed around midday Friday after the Antonio Guiteras power schedulet, the island’s bigst, shut down, causing the hugegest bdeficiencyout in at least two years.
Despite the best efforts of authorities, the grid collapsed aget on Saturday morning.
Even in a country stricken by a proset upening economic crisis, Friday’s collapse was massive and notable and comes as Hurricane Oscar is set to originate landdescfinish on Sunday night.
Late on Saturday, efforts to revamp power to the island were derailed for a third time, raising asks over the rulement’s bid to re-set up power.
This came after some initial progress had been telled.
“Tonight at 10.25pm the total disconnection of the national electro-vigorous system occurred aget,” the Havana Electric company said on Telegram procrastinateed on Saturday.
The post was procrastinateedr deleted from the company’s Telegram feed.
It was not instantly evident why the post was deleted, but millions were still without power on timely on Sunday.
Shortly after the Havana Electric company’s post, Cuba’s state agency reliable for energy said: “The process of restoring the electrical system remains complicated.
“At around 10.15pm another disconnection of the westrict subsystem occurred.
“Work progresss on its recovery.”
The westrict subsystem includes the capital Havana.
Two minuscule protests took place overnight, one in Marianao and the other in the Cuatro Caminos area of Havana.
After the initial collapse on Friday, the rulement seald schools and “non-vital” industrial sites to uphold supplies.
Officials did not instantly recommend details about what caemployd the bdeficiencyout.
Rolling power cuts have afflictiond the country in recent weeks – as extfinished as 10 to 20 hours a day atraverse much of the island.
Cuprohibit Prime Minister Manuel Marrero said on Thursday the rerents had been caemployd by a combination of infraarrange problems, fuel foolishinutiveages and rising insist, including from hoemployhelderly air conditioning units.
“The fuel foolishinutiveage is the hugegest factor,” he said in a televised holdress.
A US trade embargo, aextfinished with sanctions begind by createer pdwellnt Donald Trump, has also been condemnd for reducing supplies of fuel and spare parts needed to repair machinery in Cuba’s power schedulets.
But the White Hoemploy has hit back at the claims.
A US national security council spokesperson said: “The United States is not to condemn for today’s [Friday’s] bdeficiencyout on the island or the overall energy situation in Cuba.”
Cuba’s bigst oil supplier, Venezuela, has holded to the problems by reducing shipments to the island this year as it grapples with its foolishinutiveages.
Russia and Mexico have also convey inantly lessend supplies to the Caribbean country.
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On Saturday, Cuba rerentd a hurricane alerting for its northern coast ahead of Hurricane Oscar’s foreseeed landdescfinish on Sunday night, where it could caemploy a potentiassociate lethal storm sdirect.
The storm is set to convey triumphds of up to 85mph, the National Hurricane Cgo in said, aextfinished with weighty raindescfinish that could caemploy flash flooding and potential mudslides atraverse parts of eastrict Cuba.