Russia will send 80,000 tons of diesel and equipment to Cuba an amount of 57.87 million euros to help alleviate the energy crisis that the island suffers, aggravated by the recent impact of Hurricane Rafael, which caused a new collapse in its electrical system.
The announcement was made this Friday in Havana by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Chernyshenko, after participating in a meeting of the Russian-Cuban intergovernmental commission on commercial, economic, scientific and technical cooperation.
“On instructions from our president, Vladimir Putin, Russia is willing to provide sister Cuba with emergency aid due to the current situation in the island’s energy sector,” said Chernyshenko, quoted by the island’s official media.
The deputy prime minister added that, through the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Russian Government will also send repair materials to the island for the affected energy equipment.
It is expected that as a result of At the meeting of the Russian-Cuban cooperation commission, several bilateral agreements were signed, of which no details have emerged.
Chernyshenko arrived in Cuba after Hurricane Rafael, category 3 (out of 5) on the Saffir-Simpson scale, severely hit the western region of Cuba – including Havana – on Wednesday, leaving extensive damage.
The subsequent total blackout is the second “zero national energy coverage” event occurred in almost three weeks in the country.
This Friday, as reported by the Ministry of Energy and Mines, some municipalities in Havana have recovered the connection – 17% of the nearly 2 million residents of the capital – while just over a million people in Mayabeque, Artemisa and Pinar del Río remain without supply.
The Cuban SEN is in a very precarious situationwhich causes prolonged daily blackouts, due to the lack of fuel – a result of the lack of foreign currency to import it – and the frequent breakdowns in its obsolete thermoelectric plants, with more than 40 years of operation and a chronic investment deficit.
In mid-October, a breakdown caused another total blackout in Cuba that lasted three days. In September 2022, Hurricane Ian was also responsible for its complete collapse the system for about a week.
Rafael crossed the island from south to north for more than two hours with strong winds of up to 186 kilometers per hour and recorded rains of up to 195 millimeters (or liters per square meter), according to the island’s Institute of Meteorology.
This hurricane is the second hurricane to make landfall in Cuba in 2024. The previous one was Óscar, which hit the northeastern tip of the island for 24 hours between October 20 and 21, leaving eight dead, 12,000 homes damaged and 13,000 hectares of crops affected.
#Russia #send #tons #diesel #equipment #Cuba #alleviate #energy #crisis
