Lower thirds:

00:02 Report by / Elena Lehmann
00:32 Eileen Blay / Havana resident
01:13 Yuri Betancourt / Havana resident
02:04 Carlos Alzugaray / Former Cuban diplomat
02:36 Juan Pablo / Solar panel installer
02:59 Jose Carlos / Solar panel installer
03:26 Yuri Betancourt / Havana resident

Script:

00:02
When Yuri Betancourt returns home from work in downtown Havana, his second working day begins. He takes care of his mother

00:11-0:12 
+++ Yuri Betancourt (Spanish): +++
"Mom, I'm home!"

00:14
The sound technician's day-to-day life revolves around his mother Eileen. 

00:23
For the past three years, together they have been facing a situation that has completely changed their lives.

00:30 
+++ Eileen Blay (Spanish): +++
"Because I didn't have blood pressure pills, and with the stress of going to the pharmacy, standing in line plus everything else that was going on here-with all the shortages-one fine day in the morning I had a stroke."

00:45
Since then, Eileen has been in constant need of assistance. Her daughter emigrated to Spain and, in the absence of professional support, Yuri takes over the household chores and daily care.

00:57
He does even the physiotherapy exercises, which he learned from tutorials on the internet.

01.07
Now, there is another constant worry: when the next blackout will come.

01:12
+++Yuri Betancourt (Spanish) +++
"There's no power, no light. Can you imagine being here in this heat, with no power, no water? What do I cook? What do I do?What can I do to make her happier? You do what you can to keep going, even if it's impossible."

01:25
Since the beginning of the year, Cuba has been going through one of its most severe energy crises in recent decades.

The island imports more than half of the fuel it needs. After a brief relief due to the arrival of Russian crude oil, some areas are again dealing with blackouts of more than twenty hours a day.

01:44
Former Cuban diplomat Carlos Alzugaray believes the crisis has more than one cause.

01:52
+++ Carlos Alzugaray (Spanish): +++
"It's a combination of two factors. The fuel blockade that the United States has imposed on Cuba and the neglect by the Cuban government. The government did not think ahead and look for alternative energy sources. The main one, of course, is the sun."

02:10
The state is now expanding its photovoltaic capacity with the support of China, and demand for private solar installations is also on the rise.

02:19
Until two years ago, Juan Pablo and José Carlos worked as web developers. Now, they install panels on the roofs of Havana for a private Cuban company called INGENIUS.

02:35
+++SOT Juan Pablo (Spanish): +++
"I think there is going to be a transition, very slowly, and that especially the private sector will help a lot in that sense." 

02:45
According to the company, the number of solar panels in use in Cuba tripled in the last year.

02:57
+++ José Carlos (Spanish): +++
"For the future, I really hope that costs will continue to fall as they are doing now, in terms of batteries and panels, and that that will be an effective solution to Cuba's current problem of energy shortages."
 
03.13
Currently, a basic solar unit with battery and inverter can cost several thousand dollars. That's beyond the reach of most Cuban families.
 
03:18
At Yuri’s house, every power outage forces them to rethink the basics.

03:25 
+++ Yuri Betancourt (Spanish): +++
"You can’t keep food for very long. Since there’s no power, you have to live day by day."

03:30
Battery power is all they can rely on...

03:43 
And so... for the last few hours of the day, Yuri and his mother make the most of the last bit of light coming from the neighbor’s generator.

END