Cool! Cuba lifts restrictions on air conditioners, fridges

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Men line-fishing in Havana's bay in Cuba, Saturday July 30, 2011. In the background, on the east side of the bay, the Nico Lopez gasoline refinery burns bright. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)

Updated: November 2, 2011 3:54PM

HAVANA — Cuba is renewing sales of energy-sucking appliances, reversing a pillar of Fidel Castro’s “energy revolution” in response to popular demand and to support the growing ranks of independent workers under an economic overhaul launched by President Raul Castro.

The measure covers appliances such as air conditioners, electric stoves, coffee makers, grills and sandwich makers.

The appliances will begin going on sale gradually as they become available, according to a notice published in the Official Gazette and dated Friday.

Appliance sales have been largely restricted since 2003, and they were key targets of former President Fidel Castro’s “energy revolution.”

That initiative sought to replace aging, inefficient kitchen appliances that taxed Cuba’s shaky electrical grid and contributed to frequent summer blackouts that lasted for hours.

Since then, the antiquated electrical grid has been overhauled and blackouts are not as frequent or severe today, though officials still urge conservation.

Although most of Cuba’s electricity is generated by crude oil, there have been efforts to increase renewable sources like solar.

Raul Castro launched an economic overhaul last year that aims to rescue Cuba’s perennially weak economy by including a taste of the private sector.

However, Castro emphasizes that the government is “updating” its socialist model, not embracing capitalism.

AP