Havana announces blackouts since the beginning of August

(CNN) — Cuba’s capital, Havana, will begin to experience power outages starting in early August, state media reported, as the country’s energy crisis deepens.

Starting in the first week of August, power outages will be scheduled for four hours a day, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time, with a frequency of every three days, according to the local daily of the Communist Party, Tribune of Havanawhich reported a meeting of local authorities.

Authorities also decided to cancel the city’s carnival celebrations, which usually take place during the weekends of August. Instead, they will hold a smaller celebration from August 26-28, along with some town-level parties.

Havana has largely been spared the power outages the island has been experiencing for months amid a worsening economic crisis and fuel shortages.

As explained by the Governor of the city, Reinaldo García Zapata, “turning off the municipal circuits… will represent a saving of 100 megawatts, which will save fuel and will result in fewer blackouts in the rest of the provinces,” state media reported.

“This is the time to stand in solidarity and contribute so that the rest of Cuba suffers less from undesirable blackouts,” said the leader of the Havana Communist Party, Luis Antonio Torres, according to state media.

The energy crisis is of particular concern to government officials after last year’s widespread protests, the largest since the Cuban revolution, that began after residents grew tired of blackouts and took to the streets.