Havana announces blackouts, cancels carnival as crisis deepens

FILE PHOTO: People walk under a Cuban flag hanging in downtown Havana, Cuba, October 8, 2021. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

HAVANA (Reuters) - The Cuban capital of Havana will begin electricity blackouts in August, has canceled carnival and is taking other measures as the country’s energy crisis worsens, state media reported on Saturday.

The capital, home to a fifth of the population of 11.2 million and center of economic activity in Cuba, had been spared the daily power outages of four or more hours that the rest of the island has endured for months.