A major power plant fails in Cuba, plunging the island into darkness — again

HAVANA (AP) — A new, widespread power outage plunged Cuba into darkness on Wednesday after one of the island’s major power plants failed, leaving millions without electricity and forcing authorities to suspend classes and work activities indefinitely.

The Electric Union, the state-run power company, attributed the incident to the shutdown of the Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Plant in Matanzas province, east of Havana. The blackout, which occurred shortly after 2 a.m., affected the entire nation, the company said on X.

As of Wednesday morning, power began to be restored gradually in some parts of the country, including Havana.

Cuba’s Minister of Energy and Mines Vicente de la O said later in a televised address that service would be fully restored by Thursday.

On Oct. 18, the island suffered a significant blackout that, added to the passage of Hurricane Oscar two days later, left the island without electricity for several days.

Weeks later, Hurricane Rafael’s strong winds triggered another system-wide blackout that left the national energy system disconnected again.

Cuba’s power grid has been plagued by frequent outages in recent months, with more than half of the country experiencing power cuts during peak hours. The outages are primarily caused by fuel shortages and aging infrastructure. In many parts of the island, electricity is crucial for cooking and water pumping.

The blackouts — caused in part by failures in old thermoelectric plants — are devastating, impacting families, schools and businesses.

Cuba gets its power from large thermoelectric plants like Antonio Guiteras and some smaller ones, which run on crude oil. While the island produces about half of its own crude oil, it must import the remainder, which can be difficult — and costly — due to U.S. sanctions. It has historically relied on allies like Venezuela and Russia for cheaper fuel supplies.

Cuba has been working on a project to upgrade the island’s electrical grid through the use of alternative power sources. The construction of 31 centers to generate solar energy is under way and expected to be completed next year.

Cuba's economic crisis has worsened in recent years, leading to food and fuel shortages, mounting inflation and a loss of purchasing power —and forcing thousands to flee, mainly to the U.S. but also Spain and other Latin American countries.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

A girl plays in the street during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Children kick a ball around during a power outage in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Children do their homework on a front doorstep during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A man cooks soup over an open fire on a sidewalk, during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A trio rides a bicycle during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A man pets his dog as friends play dominoes outdoors during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Biden administration's decision to block a proposed nearly $15 billion deal for Nippon to acquire Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel..

The suit, filed Monday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, alleges that it was a political decision and violated the companies' due process.

“From the outset of the process, both Nippon Steel and U. S. Steel have engaged in good faith with all parties to underscore how the Transaction will enhance, not threaten, United States national security, including by revitalizing communities that rely on American steel, bolstering the American steel supply chain, and strengthening America’s domestic steel industry against the threat from China," the companies said in a prepared statement Monday. “Nippon Steel is the only partner both willing and able to make the necessary investments.”

Nippon Steel had promised to invest $2.7 billion in U.S. Steel’s aging blast furnace operations in Gary, Indiana, and Pennsylvania’s Mon Valley. It also vowed not to reduce production capacity in the United States over the next decade without first getting U.S. government approval.

Biden on Friday decided to stop the Nippon takeover — after federal regulators deadlocked on whether to approve it — because “a strong domestically owned and operated steel industry represents an essential national security priority. ... Without domestic steel production and domestic steel workers, our nation is less strong and less secure," he said in a statement.

While administration officials have said the decision was unrelated to Japan's relationship with the U.S. — this is the first time a U.S. president has blocked a merger between a U.S. and Japanese firm.

Biden departs the White House in just a few weeks.

The president's decision to block the deal comes after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, known as CFIUS, failed to reach consensus on the possible national security risks of the deal last month, and sent a long-awaited report on the merger to Biden. He had 15 days to reach a final decision.

In a separate lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on the same day, the companies accused steel-making rival Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and its CEO, Lourenco Goncalves, in coordination with David McCall, the head of the U.S. Steelworkers union, of “engaging in a coordinated series of anticompetitive and racketeering activities” to block the deal.

In 2023 before U.S. Steel accepted the buyout offer from Nippon, Cleveland-Cliffs offered to buy U.S. Steel for $7 billion. U.S. Steel turned down the offer and later accepted a nearly $15 billion all-cash offer from Nippon Steel, which is the deal that Biden nixed Friday.

The companies allege that Goncalves, in collusion with the U.S. Steelworkers, maneuvered to prevent any party other than Cleveland-Cliffs from acquiring U.S. Steel and to damage the Pittsburgh manufacturer’s ability to compete.

Neither the Steelworkers nor Ohio's Ohio’s Cleveland-Cliffs responded immediately to requests by The Associated Press for comment.

Nippon and U.S. Steel said in the lawsuit that they submitted three draft national security agreements to CFIUS in the fall to address any concerns.

The companies said in their lawsuit that CFIUS was told not to offer any counterproposals or hold discussions with them. Nippon and US Steel argue that the review process was manipulated so that the outcome would support a decision they say Biden had already made.

The companies said that President Biden used “undue influence to advance his political agenda.”

Nippon, however, will face an incoming administration that has also vowed to block the deal.

President-elect Donald Trump last month underscored his intention to block the deal, and pledged to use tax incentives and tariffs to strengthen the iconic American steelmaker.

Trump had vowed early in the presidential campaign that he would “instantaneously” block the deal, and he reiterated that sentiment in a post on his Truth Social platform in early December.

Shares of United States Steel Corp. rose more than 3% before the opening bell Monday.

FILE - This April 26, 2010, file photo shows the United States Steel logo outside the headquarters building in downtown Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

FILE - A staff enters doorway next to Nippon Steel logo at the company's Kashima Plant in Kashima, Japan on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill, File)

FILE - This is a portion of US Steel's Edgar Thomson Works in Braddock, Pa., on Sunday, Apr., 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

FILE - This is a portion of US Steel's Edgar Thomson Works in Braddock, Pa., on Sunday, Apr., 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)