HAVANA, July 4. /TASS/. A July 3 accident at the Victoria de Giron power substation in Havana triggered massive power outages throughout Cuba.

"At 20:08 p.m. (00:08 a.m. GMT) a malfunction at the Victoria de Giron substation in the Cuban capital prompted significant fluctuations in the operation of the national energy system (SEN) and a sudden shutdown of the Rente-3 and Felton-1 power units," the national energy company of Cuba said on Telegram.

It also notes that the Felton-1 power unit "has already been commissioned: it generates 50 MW and increases the load. SEN is experiencing a shortage of generating capacity, which has led to massive power outages across the country."

The situation in Cuba deteriorated sharply at the end of January after the US started to block fuel supplies to the island. Since February, Washington has already adopted several packages of sanctions against the Caribbean republic, pushing the island into a crisis.

The periods of power outage in the republic are increasing. In most areas in all cities of the country, including Havana, it is turned on only for 1-2 hours a day, in many areas the blackout exceeds 2-3 days. Increasingly the people turn to the National Electric Power Company with demands to resolve the problem on social media. There are also serious problems with gas and water supply throughout Cuba, as pumps cannot operate without electricity. The situation is complicated by a particularly hot weather, typical of the summer season.