Cuba’s power partially restored, Ministry of Tourism promises “safe & pleasant experiences” for visitors

Electricity in Cuba has been gradually restored in some areas, the Cuba Tourist Board told PAX late Wednesday (Dec. 4).

The island’s power grid collapsed again yesterday morning, leaving millions without power. It was the latest in a string of nationwide blackouts that have plagued Cuba in recent weeks as the country grapples with frail infrastructure, fuel shortages and natural disasters.

Addressing this week’s outage, the tourist board noted how the Cayos have their own independent electric unit and are not affected. Hotels in Varadero, meanwhile, are offering regular service because they’re powered by generators.

A “complete recovery” is expected Thursday, the tourist board said.

Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy confirmed that Cuba's power was restored shortly before midnight on Wednesday, Reuters reports, but many are still without electricity. 

Lights out in Cuba

This week’s outage comes after Cuba went dark for nearly a week in October – its worst energy outage in decades. The high-profile event was later amplified by extreme weather events – Hurricane Oscar struck the far eastern end of the island in October while November saw the passage of Hurricane Rafael.

This week's outage was triggered by a failure at the Antonio Guiteras power plant in Matanzas, which shut down at around 2 a.m. local time, Reuters reports.

Several other power plants were undergoing maintenance and were offline when the Matanzas site failed, starving the grid of electricity and leading to the countrywide collapse, the country’s energy minister said.

In an update yesterday, the country’s National Electric Union (UNE) said it was producing 533 megawatts of electricity by the evening, which is a fraction of typical dinnertime demand of between 3,000 and 3,200 megawatts, leaving most Cubans in the dark.

Cuban officials have blamed the energy failures on different things, from increased U.S. economic sanctions to disruptions caused by hurricanes to the deteriorating state of the island’s infrastructure.

Canada updates travel advice

The Government of Canada has now updated its travel advice page for Cuba.

“Cuba has been experiencing nationwide power outages since October 18, 2024. The electrical system is vulnerable and additional outages can occur suddenly. Previous outages persist in some places and scheduled power cuts regularly take place to conserve power,” a notice reads.

READ MORE: With Cuba in damage control, Sunwing shifts focus to “hidden gems”; 26 Cuban hotels removed

The government confirms that large hotels and resorts are using generators during power outages.

“However, they may not be able to maintain their services should an extended outage occur,” the website reads.

Due to the ongoing power situation, consumer confidence in Cuba this winter is lower than usual, so much so that Sunwing – which sells more vacations to Cuba than any other tour operator in Canada – has been promoting "hidden gem" destinations that are less precarious.

As PAX learned during an exclusive interview with Sunwing’s Chief Marketing Officer Samantha Taylor, there’s a belief that some Canadian may take a break from Cuba this winter.

“We have to recognize and respect that,” Taylor told PAX. “The island will be ready for them when they're ready to come back, and we hope to earn that trust back again. We're doing the heavy lifting now to make sure we’re fixing the foundation and that we have an excellent product selection for this winter.”

“…But while we're doing that, we're providing other options, because we know this is an expensive week for people, and we want to make sure they're making the best choice with their money. We want to remove any anxiety from that choice.”

Cuba’s Ministry of Tourism responds

Cuba’s Ministry of Tourism issued a statement yesterday, addressing the country’s energy situation.

“We are prepared to face the current challenges and ensure that tourism activities are developed normally,” the Ministry wrote in a social media post.  

Tourist destinations such as Cayo Largo, Cayo Santa Maria, Cayo Coco, Cayo Cruz and Cayo Paredón generate their own electricity, independent of the National Electricity System, the Ministry pointed out.

“We have equipped our hotel and hotel facilities with backup generators to ensure a continuous and reliable power supply. We adopt energy saving and efficiency practices to minimize the impact on our operations and the experience of our customers. We are in constant communication with local authorities to coordinate actions to ensure the stability of our services,” the Ministry wrote.

“We ratify the will and ability to provide a safe and pleasant experience to all our customers.”

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