综合一区欧美国产,99国产麻豆免费精品,九九精品黄色录像,亚洲激情青青草,久久亚洲熟妇熟,中文字幕av在线播放,国产一区二区卡,九九久久国产精品,久久精品视频免费

WORLD> America
Cuba shuts factories, cuts energy to save economy
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-07-31 17:25

Beginning June 1, the government ordered energy conservation measures as part of a broader plan to cut the national budget by 6 percent. Central planners also revised their economic growth projections from 6 percent to 2.5 percent and could lower expectations even further.

Cuba shuts factories, cuts energy to save economy
A bicycle-taxi driver waits for passengers in front of the National Capitol building in Havana, Thursday, July 30, 2009. [Agencies]


The island's economic woes began in earnest with three hurricanes last summer that caused more than $10 billion in damage and wiped out some of the food and grains the government had stockpiled to insulate itself from rising commodities prices.

How much Cuba has spent on hurricane recovery is unclear. But Castro said the government has rebuilt or repaired 43 percent of the 260,000 homes damaged or lost in the storms.

Cuba consumed about 150,000 barrels of crude oil a day in 2008, of which 52,000 were produced domestically and 93,000 imported from Venezuela, said Jorge Pinon, an energy fellow at the University of Miami's Center for Hemispheric Policy. Half is used to generate electricity, according to Cuba's Ministry of Basic Resources.

Though the numbers leave the country 5,000 barrels a day short, Pinon said natural gas production last year covered the energy equivalent of 20,000 barrels of oil daily and kept the power plants running smoothly.

"Cuba, from a petroleum point of view, is balanced," he said. "It's not running out of oil."

So far the power-saving measures have been confined to state-run businesses and factories, though many Cubans fear they will soon hit residential users as well.

Workers at a tire factory in San Jose de las Lajas, a rugged farming town 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Havana, said production is down and the factory goes dark when demand for electricity is high -- leaving gas stations and mechanics short on spare tires.

Some government office workers say their hours have been cut to between 8 am and 3 pm, and others are being told to come in only twice a week.

State companies also have stopped offering employees low-cost lunches in worker cafeterias to save power.

Other government offices, businesses, banks and stores have ordered air conditioners turned off for much of the day, rather than close early.

   Previous page 1 2 Next Page  

济宁市| 广宗县| 定襄县| 武陟县| 山西省| 秀山| 伊金霍洛旗| 拜城县| 土默特左旗| 洪湖市| 集安市| 徐水县| 吴川市| 桃园县| 西平县| 米泉市| 怀远县| 民乐县| 平顺县| 申扎县| 三明市| 高雄市| 哈尔滨市| 荆州市| 阿鲁科尔沁旗| 康乐县| 马尔康县| 邯郸市| 东乡县| 定襄县| 鲜城| 宁武县| 吴川市| 辽阳市| 沧源| 车致| 云安县| 象山县| 开化县| 中阳县| 苗栗市|