Large-scale power outages occurred across much of Cuba in the Caribbean on March 4.
Reuters reports this, citing the Cuban state-owned electricity company.
Power company Union Electrica UNE said the outage was caused by an unexpected outage at the Antonio Guiteras thermal power plant, about 100 km east of the capital, Havana, which also lost power. The plant's technical director, Roman Perez, said repairs to the Guiteras power plant could take three to four days.
Havana as a whole has experienced periodic power outages due to government rationing. Journalists say locals have largely taken the blackout in stride. Some traffic lights and businesses have been powered by solar panels or generators. National news broadcasts have been delayed. Fuel shortages have forced the Cuban government to curtail key services such as garbage collection and transportation.
The Cuban government blames decades of U.S. economic sanctions on its economic crisis, which have left the country underinvested in electricity generation and the grid. Mexico, an alternative oil supplier to Venezuela, said it would cut off supplies after the U.S. threatened new tariffs on countries that supply oil to Cuba.
Global oil prices are rising for the third day in a row amid the escalation of the US-Israeli conflict with Iran. They have already risen by 16-17%. This escalation affects fuel logistics and increases concerns about the stability of oil and gas exports from Middle Eastern countries.