Cuba turns off almost 75% of public lighting to avoid collapse

The Cuban government turned off almost 75% of the island’s public lighting this Tuesday (March 5, 2024) to avoid a blackout. The country is experiencing energy supply problems due to a lack of fuel. The information is from Reuters.

The government of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel links the current problem to the sanctions applied by former United States President Donald Trump.

At the beginning of February, the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) announced the departure of Alejandro Gil, then Minister of Economy, because of problems that increased fuel prices in the country.

To avoid an escalation of problems, Cuba’s Minister of Mines and Energy, Vicente de la O Levy, made recommendations on the sustainable use of energy to citizens. Among the recommendations are:

• take advantage of natural light;
• not opening the refrigerator often;
• do not leave a fan on unless someone is using it;
• do not leave televisions on without someone watching;
• use air conditioning after 10pm local time.

According to the news agency, the island experiences blackouts that last up to 12 hours. “Salways complicate daily work. Lliquids and meats suffer from defrosting in refrigerators.”, said a Cuban citizen.