Cuba Blames Power Plant Problems for New Blackouts

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Sunday July 15 6:37 PM ET

Cuba Blames Power Plant Problems for New Blackouts

HAVANA (Reuters) - A new wave of blackouts across Cuba was due to power plant problems, Cuban authorities said on Sunday, promising relief soon from the outages which have revived memories of a 1990s energy shortage.

The state-run electric company said in a brief statement that the unexpected shutdown of a plant in western Cuba had combined with the need to limit power generation in the drought-stricken east to conserve water, causing the energy shortage.

``Work is going on around the clock to open the Antonio Guiteras plant in the coming week, which will improve the situation,'' said the company, the National Electric Union.

But blackouts could return if a new breakdown occurred at any of Cuba's power plants, the company added.

The company urged residents to do their part to reduce demand during the summer months, when the heat and vacations traditionally increase the strain on the power grid.

``State-run enterprises have been told to shift all demand possible to morning hours, and we ask the population for the greatest possible support, especially during high demand hours, in order to reduce the effects during the summer, when demand increases considerably,'' the statement said.

Residents from across the Caribbean island complained this week that a wave of blackouts began in June and had worsened in July, averaging three to four hours per day.

Residents have voiced irritation over the lack of an official explanation for the outages and because appliances were being burned-out when power returned.

Until Sunday Cuban officials and the state-controlled media had barely mentioned and not explained the power outages.

Throughout the 1990s Castro's cash-strapped and oil-short government had carefully scheduled blackouts to allow residents to disconnect precious appliances, saving them from the power surges that came when the lights went back on.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010715/wl/energy_cuba_blackouts_dc_1.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), July 15, 2001


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