HAVANA — Much of the energy infrastructure in Cuba was built during Soviet times, and it’s getting older every year.

Now, frequent power outages are making life on the island nation more difficult for those who live there.

“The electricity goes out every day,” said a Cuban taxi driver. “It’s normal in Cuba to see it go out for three, four hours. It affects me with food that goes to waste, my ability to work; If the power goes out overnight, I don’t want to work in the morning because I’ve been up all night.”

Students in Cuba are also struggling to study at night.

“Normally, there is always electricity in the hospital, but the problem is at home at night because that’s when I study,” said a medical student. “Without electricity, I can’t connect to the computer or charge my phone.”

If you walk the streets of Havana, sights of snarls of cable snaking around buildings and draping low, hanging between streets, are really commonplace.

Over the past five years, though, the power situation in Cuba has gotten much worse.

Cuba’s economy has been sluggish for a long time, but in the 2000s and 2010s, it was uncommon for the lights to go out for more than 15 minutes.

The energy situation there has deteriorated significantly since 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic smashed tourism revenues.

Due to that, there was less money to import fuel to generate electricity. Additionally, the treasury department began sanctioning tankers transporting fuel to the island, which also made producing electricity more expensive.

During a power outage, there will sometimes be a random restaurant that has a generator with fuel amid the range of darkness. Those lucky places are able to get through the night more easily.

Nightlife has taken a major toll in Cuba as well, as with no lights, there are fewer people willing to go out into the darkness.

“The power went out at 6:30 p.m.,” said a Cuban resident. “It’s possible it comes back at 11 p.m. or 10:30 p.m. It’s all dependent on how much time the government wants to give you.”

Many Cubans are showing stoicism, a lot of resistance, but also a huge amount of frustration.

Everyone there knows the lights are eventually going to come back on, they just don’t know when.

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