Cuba's national power grid collapsed, plunging the entire island into widespread darkness. The state-owned electric company UNE announced the failure on social media platform X on Sunday evening but did not immediately specify the cause, the extent of the impact, or the restoration timeline.
Before the nationwide failure, Havana's electric utility had recorded outages due to damaged transformers, circuit failures, and planned power cuts because of insufficient generating capacity. According to Reuters, dozens of unresolved complaints were logged on Sunday morning in areas such as Guanabacoa, Habana del Este, La Lisa, and Marianao.
Cuban authorities typically restore power after a failure by establishing small, independent grids to serve hospitals, water systems, and food facilities before gradually reconnecting major generating plants.
Series of Nationwide Blackouts
Sunday's failure is the latest nationwide blackout this year. Cuba's power system collapsed three times within nine days in July, including two island-wide outages. One of those left about 10 million people without electricity, as authorities struggled to restore service because the country could not generate enough power to meet demand even after the grid was reconnected.
Cuba's power system has deteriorated due to fuel and spare parts shortages, as well as recurring failures at aging thermal plants. Some generating units have been operating for more than 30 years with limited maintenance.
The Cuban government blames Washington for severely restricting the island's oil supply, as well as its access to financing and equipment. Cuba lost a crucial fuel source after US President Donald Trump imposed an oil embargo following the US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3. Venezuela has long been Cuba's main oil supplier, while imports from Mexico have also halted due to pressure from Washington.
Meanwhile, some analysts point to decades of underinvestment and poor management in the energy sector. Prolonged blackouts have disrupted transportation, water supply, communications, and medical services, and have made it difficult for residents to preserve food, cook, or sleep during sweltering summer nights.
