Who understands electricity & its generation & supply

[LisaJohnsonsFacebookMole]

It feels like some kind of general knowledge I should have but I don't. Take Cuba as an example, chronic electricity shortages and there is now a huge blackout. Why has it happened? What is that they are short of that means they can't supply electricity to people?

I think Cuba is literally short of fuel. I'm not totally aware of it but I think it's a long term issue for economic reasons, made worse by the recent hurricane causing practical problems as fuel is brought by ships.

It's probably (definitely!) more complex than that, but that's my broad understanding.

I had missed the news about this but sounds like they have a combination of not enough fuel to generate enough electricity for the amount of demand, plus old infrastructure and lack of spare parts at least partly due to US trade embargo.

Electricity grids are quite tricky things to maintain the correct balance between supply and demand, it's not as simple as water which can either be run at lower pressure or stored or spilled if there's too much. If one part of the grid is disrupted it can cause knock on effects.

This article explains what's causing the situation -

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/cuba-implements-emergency-measures-millions-go-without-electricity-2024-10-18/