Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Scott Rupert
Cuba went dark on Dec. 4 as the Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Plant east of Havana malfunctioned. This follows a series of blackouts over the past two months, ranging from total to intermittent. Communist leaders may be powerful, but they can’t produce reliable power.

After Cuba’s electrical grid suffered a total collapse in mid-October, and the entire island was left without electricity, Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel accused the United States of causing the blackouts and ensuing chaos. He spoke of the U.S. trade embargo as an “economic war” which has led to the suffering of millions of Cubans from their restrictive policies.

The U.S. trade embargo undoubtedly affected the flow of goods into Cuba, but for the government to tie it to the health of the power grid is nothing more than a ploy to avoid responsibility.

The island’s blackouts are rooted in 50 years of policy failures created by a communist economy, with central planning substituting for the provisions of goods by private companies in response to price signals. Central planners clearly cannot produce reliable, resilient electricity, which is the foundation of any economy.

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Cuba boasts about the quality of its medical care, but hospitals rely on electricity. Electricity provides refrigeration and hot showers for homes, and power to process its valuable exports in tobacco, sugar, and nickel.

Cuba relies almost entirely on imported oil and natural gas for electricity. Cubans consume 153,000 barrels per day, and of that, only a little under 50,000 barrels are produced domestically. This leaves a gap of over 105,000 barrels to meet demand.

Cuba has historically imported most of its oil from its longtime ally and oil producer Venezuela. With the highest proven oil reserves in the world, Venezuela once provided Cuba with a cheap,  » Read More
https://www.heritage.org/energy/commentary/cubas-blackouts-why-central-planners-cant-create-reliable-power