In the early hours of Saturday, Cuba experienced its second collapse of the National Power Grid, a moment captured in photographs by Yoani Sánchez, a Cuban journalist and director of the independent outlet 14ymedio. Through her social media channels, Sánchez shared images that clearly depicted this latest failure, highlighting the limited progress made overnight from Friday to Saturday in restoring the National Electric System (SEN).
These photographs, taken from her apartment in Nuevo Vedado, provided panoramic views of Havana. The first photo displayed some lights and partially illuminated areas, while the second captured the complete blackout. "At 6:15 am on Saturday, October 19, 2024, the National Electric System was once again entirely disconnected. Here are two photos taken from the newsroom of 14ymedio in Havana," Sánchez posted on X (formerly known as Twitter).
The initial photograph was taken at 6:10 am, showing some circuits still powered around the bay, Old Havana, and parts of the Diez de Octubre municipality, according to the journalist. "The second image was snapped minutes later, at 6:15 am, when everything went dark again in the Cuban capital, except for locations equipped with their own power generators," Sánchez explained.
Efforts to Restore Power Amidst Uncertainty
On Friday afternoon, Cuba's Ministry of Energy and Mines (MINEM) announced a complete disconnection of the SEN following the failure of the Guiteras thermoelectric plant. In an emergency statement, Lázaro Guerra Hernández, the director of electricity at MINEM, stated that there was no fixed timeline for fully restoring service, although efforts were underway to reconnect the electric system as swiftly as possible.
By Saturday morning, minimal progress had been made towards supplying power to the thermal power plants for their restart, a development celebrated on social media by MINEM's head, Vicente de la O Levy. "Currently, we have microsystems in all provinces except Artemisa, which have limited power and reach consumers nearby," Guerra Hernández mentioned. However, before 7:00 a.m., the SEN suffered another complete collapse, undoing the minor advancements achieved in reestablishing it.