What happens when a country is without power for too long?

As Cuba's power grid collapsed for a third day on October 20, the dire consequences of the prolonged blackout were becoming clear.

Jorge Pinn, a senior researcher at the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin and an expert on Cuba's power grid, told the Miami Herald that Cuba's thermal power plants have been operating for too long without maintenance or investment.

Cuban technicians are working to restore the power grid after it collapsed on October 18 (Photo: Granma)

Some hospitals still have electricity. However, others are running on generators, and fuel supplies are limited, raising concerns about what would happen if patients were left in the dark.

Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero has ordered all non-essential businesses to close, meaning Cubans cannot earn money. Schools and universities are also closed until further notice.

"We never thought it would be as bad as it is today. It's a total collapse ," Pinn said, noting that the situation in Cuba was unprecedented. "There are countries in South America that have problems with electricity generation. But not to the extent that Cuba has."

Experts say the consequences of prolonged power outages go beyond the uncomfortable heat and lack of modern conveniences. People will get sick and die because they can't get the medical care or treatment they need. Not being able to go to work also means many people won't be earning enough money to buy food and other basic necessities.

People 'cannot survive without electricity', Mr Pinṍn said.

Cuban people live in a power outage (Photo: Reuters).

No electricity, no medical services

Cuba has a neighbor, the US territory of Puerto Rico, that is also well accustomed to living in the dark for long periods. The island was the site of the longest power outage in US history, after Hurricane Maria devastated its infrastructure in 2017. Some areas were without power for up to a year.

In the immediate aftermath of the 2017 hurricane, Puerto Rican authorities reported a handful of deaths from flooding, collapsed buildings, and mudslides. But researchers later discovered that thousands of people died from indirect causes.

A study by George Washington University in collaboration with the University of Puerto Rico and George Washington found that there were nearly 3,000 deaths in the six months after Hurricane Maria. Old age or living in poor areas were factors in those deaths.

'A lot of it is due to lack of electricity. People can't take care of their medical conditions,' said Cathy Kunkel, an energy consultant at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, which specializes in Puerto Rico's power grid.

At the time, Puerto Ricans couldn't turn on their home oxygen machines; couldn't keep life-saving temperature-sensitive medications like insulin cold; couldn't adjust hospital beds or charge electric wheelchairs; couldn't get dialysis and chemotherapy. Living without electricity can put people, especially the elderly and children, at risk of heatstroke and other related illnesses.

Without electricity to operate water pumps, many Puerto Ricans resorted to using whatever water was available for their daily needs. This included using water from rivers, streams, and contaminated water sources. The Puerto Rico Center for Investigative Journalism found 26 deaths from leptospirosis, a waterborne bacterial disease, in the six months following the storm. That was more than double the number from the previous year.

For hospitals and medical centers that must perform time-sensitive procedures or keep drugs and vaccines at certain temperatures — or simply need electricity to examine and treat patients — power outages also pose major logistical challenges.

Frente Ciudadano por la Auditoria de la Deuda, an advocacy group in Puerto Rico, commemorated the lives lost after Hurricane Maria due to power outages with an exhibit on the sixth anniversary of the storm. People wrote letters about how their loved ones and neighbors died without oxygen, ventilators and medical equipment.

In recent years, several people on the island, mostly elderly, have also died from fires in their homes caused by generators or candles they used to keep out of the dark.

Power outages can also cause or exacerbate mental health issues. University of Puerto Rico psychologist Eduardo Lugo recently reported that the Puerto Rican government's mental health helpline received 7,300 calls in three weeks from people affected by grid-related issues.

'It just makes things more complicated every day,' Kunkel said. 'After Hurricane Maria, especially in rural areas, people were wondering, 'Is the power ever going to come back? Is this ever going to be resolved?''

The square area in Havana is plunged into darkness (Photo: Reuters).

The economy is in the dark

The power outage has also affected the economy and businesses. Cuban Prime Minister Marrero Cruz said the island's economy was now paralyzed.

In Puerto Rico, it is not uncommon for businesses to close due to power outages. Some restaurants with gas stoves remained operational during the outage, but both staff and diners endured unbearable heat.

'If you're a small business owner and you have to frequently close your doors because of power outages, or you have to invest in generators to keep operating, it drives up your costs,' Kunkel said.

Mr. Pinṍn, the Cuban energy expert, said that the power outage would not only affect domestic businesses but also international tourists to the island, who contribute to the local economy.

'Given this situation and global news, Cuba could see a further drop in tourism ,' Pinn said.

Children and university students in Cuba may also face delays or disruptions to their studies due to power outages.

It took a month for children to return to public schools after Hurricane Maria, although most classrooms remained without power. The outages also raised questions about whether they could trigger a new wave of migration, as migration from Cuba reached record levels.

Cuba's power grid went down on October 18 after a fault at a power plant in the western province of Matanzas caused the entire grid to collapse. The government has since declared a state of emergency as workers try to restore power.

The island's energy agency said on October 20 that power generation would continue to increase throughout the day. However, large areas of the country remained in the dark.

Even if the power system is restored, there is no short-term solution, Mr. Pinṍn said. 'We will see some small repairs here and there in the next few weeks. But we will be back to this situation soon ,' he said.