Cuba’s Energy Crisis Sparks Unrest

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Cuba has increasingly been falling into an energy crisis, which has plunged its citizens into darkness with uncertainty over the future of the country’s energy security. The most recent crisis commenced on the 17th of October when non-essential workers were ordered to go home to help reduce the demand for power. However, this attempt failed and one of Cuba’s main power stations, Antonio Guiteras, shut down, alongside several other facilities.

Much of Cuba’s energy system is outdated, and years of underinvestment make it highly vulnerable. Many say that some of the country’s most important power plants were not built to standard in the first place. Antonio Guiteras was constructed in 1989 and has been patched up so many times, due to a lack of funding, that it is barely surviving.

The government has blamed the 62-year-old trade embargo with the U.S., which makes it difficult to import fuel, for the energy shortages. Cuba is reported to have lost as much as $5 billion last year because of the U.S. embargo. Previously, Cuba’s allies Russia and Venezuela helped the Caribbean Island to manage its energy security, but both countries are now facing challenges of their own. Washington has responded by saying that the current crisis is largely due to the Cuban government’s mismanagement of finances.

Cuba’s prime minister, Manuel Marrero, has said the emerging private sector will have to pay more for its power and stated aims to increase the country’s renewable energy capacity to enhance long-term security. The government has long aimed to accelerate Cuba’s renewable energy production, but it has not had enough public funding to do so. The island enjoys abundant sunshine, which could allow for the development of a strong solar energy network if the government can find enough investment.

Cuba recently came to an agreement with a Chinese firm to provide the materials needed to develop several solar farms in return for access to Cuba’s nickel deposits. However, many question whether Cuba’s workforce has the expertise needed to develop its solar energy sector, as many skilled workers have been driven awaydue to the economic crisis.

Cubans are now used to regular blackouts of a few hours at a time, but in October the power outage lasted several days. This forced people to look for firewood as fuel and use up any food they had before it went bad, as many are no longer receiving regular gas deliveries and charcoal seems impossible to find. In a country where much of the population is living in poverty, the energy crisis is exacerbating the poor standard of living.

The public has been warned not to protest the blackouts under threat of imprisonment. During protests in July 2021, hundreds of Cubans participating in widespread demonstrations were arrested following a series of blackouts. However, electricity generation in Cuba has decreased to far less than what’s needed, with the government now supplying between just 60 and 70 percent of the national demand. The government estimates that Cuba’s national electricity production fell by around 2.5 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year, and generation has fallen by 25 percent in total since 2019. Ricardo Torres, an economist at the American University in Washington DC, stated, “It’s important to understand that last week’s problem in the energy grid isn’t something that happens overnight.”

In late October, Mexico sent a cargo of 400,000 barrels of crude to Cuba to help alleviate fuel shortages. Mexico is one of the few countries that continues to send oil to U.S.-sanctioned Caribbean state. Between January and September, Mexico shipped around 20,000 bpd of crude to Cuba, an increase from the 16,000-bpd average in 2023. This increase responds to a fall in crude deliveries provided to Cuba by Venezuela, which decreased from 60,000 bpd in 2023 to 36,000 bpd in the first nine months of 2024.

In November, the Cuban government asked public and private businesses to produce more of their electricity using renewable resources, as well as to limit their use of air conditioning and roll out other conservation measures, in a 16-page decree. The new regulations allow top public and private energy consumers three years to develop their renewable energy capacity to provide at least 50 percent of their electricity consumption from green sources. If a company is not able to install solar panels at an office building or factory, it will instead need to arrange with the government to use some of its installed renewable energy capacity.

While the new regulations could help improve long-term energy security for Cuba, the government is doing little to alleviate the immediate effects of the energy crisis. Unless Cuba can get more fuel delivered, power plants will likely be forced to shut down again, plunging the country into darkness and further exacerbating the economic crisis already felt by many Cubans.