Refinitiv Newscasts - No lights, fans or respite: Cubans swelter in the dark

Discovery Mining

20/07/2022 17:54

Click the following link to watch video: https://share.newscasts.refinitiv.com/link?entryId=1_ppat3pu0&referenceId=tag:reuters.com,2022:newsml_OV303719072022RP1_K15&pageId=RefinitivNewscasts
Source: Thomson Reuters

Description: Cash-strapped Cuba delivered the bad news to residents this week
that there was no end in sight to blackouts disrupting their lives and the
economy. This report produced by Zachary Goelman.
Short Link: https://refini.tv/3Ompcgp

Video Transcript:

>> It's a hot July night in the town of Iguana High, about an hour outside
Havana. The homes are dark and the cars beams are the only thing illuminating
the street, shining on residents trying to sleep on their porches to escape
the punishing heat. There are no lights, no running fans. And note respite for
Cubans suffering through chronic blackouts and sweltering weather. And there's
no end in sight. On Monday, Cuban energy and mining minister Levon Arante Cruz
said that demand is exceeding current electrical capacity in the island
nation. >> A solution will not come immediately. In other words, it will be a
result of a phase process to recover power generation capacity is it will take
time and material resources. We will also need to import. >> Fires this year
at two generators, along with breakdowns at Cuba's largely obsolete power
plants, dashed hopes of ending outages over the hot summer months and perhaps
into next year. In Havana, the capital, one local complained about both
soaring temperatures and the disruptive power cuts. >> Yesterday, they cut it
from nine in the morning to 12 in the afternoon because of a breakdown. Then
it was restored, but they cut it again from 4:00 in the afternoon until 8:00
at night. And today, when I woke up around 6:00 in the morning, it was already
cut. >> Cuba imports more than 50% of its fuel, mainly from Venezuela. Its
power plants burn a mostly heavy, corrosive local crude. Just 5% of
electricity comes from alternative sources