HAVANA — For many in Cuba, including Marylín Álvarez and her family, the pressing question isn’t if the power will cut out, but rather when. This uncertainty has prompted countless residents to turn to alternative methods to keep their daily routines intact, as the nation grapples with its most severe energy crisis in years.
Álvarez, a 50-year-old cosmetologist, lives with her husband and two teenage daughters in Havana’s densely populated Bahía neighborhood. Since December, their family has faced the challenge of cooking without gas after the government halted gas supplies, relying instead on an electric burner. However, this solution has become increasingly impractical due to frequent blackouts.
“The outages are intense, and with gas scarcely available, I have to constantly scramble to get meals prepared,” Álvarez admitted. With electricity often unavailable for several days a month or several hours daily, the family adapts by using a charcoal stove.
Ingenuity extends to leisure time as well. Ángel Rodríguez, Álvarez’s husband and an auto mechanic, created a makeshift TV using an old laptop screen powered by an electric motorcycle battery. “It doesn’t last very long,” Rodríguez noted, “but it’s enough for my family to watch TV or find some entertainment.”
Cuba’s power outages, a persistent issue for months, have become more frequent recently, exacerbated by ongoing fuel shortages at power plants and outdated infrastructure. With the intense demand of summer fast approaching and no apparent solutions on the horizon, families are bracing for challenging times.
“We do our best,” said Álvarez.
Acknowledging the severity of the situation, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel identified power outages as one of the government’s significant challenges. In the past eight months alone, the island has experienced four total blackouts, leaving it in complete darkness.
Last week, Díaz-Canel highlighted the nation’s severe energy deficit, noting that between March and May, electricity demand increased from 2,580 to 3,050 megawatts, while availability increased minimally from 1,790 to about 1,900 megawatts.
The government has proposed solutions, such as setting up solar parks and repairing generators with assistance from China and Russia, but progress has been limited. Meanwhile, Cubans continue to find inventive ways to cope.
On Havana’s outskirts, 45-year-old blacksmith Edinector Vázquez has seen his workload increase, catering to a clientele primarily composed of lower-income families. Vázquez crafts charcoal stoves from metal scraps, selling them for about $18, roughly equivalent to a Cuban state worker’s monthly salary, though he provides discounts for low-income customers.
Natividad Hernández, slightly more affluent than the Bahía neighborhood family, opted for an investment in solar panels. However, her budget didn’t extend to batteries and other necessary components, so their use is limited to daylight hours when there is some electricity from the grid.
As blackouts grow more common, Cuba’s online marketplaces are filled with ads for rechargeable fans, lamps with chargers, and charging stations, mostly imported from the United States and Panama, making them out of reach for many.
A researcher at the University of Texas at Austin’s Energy Institute, Jorge Piñón, noted, “Lack of oil, gas, and increased electricity consumption for cooking, combined with high summer temperatures and potential hurricanes — not even a gripping Mexican soap opera could portray a more dramatic scene.”
According to Piñón, resolving Cuba’s energy problems could take “three to five years” and as much as $8 billion.
Given these daunting prospects, the outlook for many Cubans appears bleak.
“This is tough,” said Rodríguez, as he set up his rudimentary television and the first scenes of a soap opera lit up, captivating his family’s attention.
“The moment will eventually arrive when we exhaust our ideas.”