Cuba's national power system has collapsed again, leaving millions of residents without power. The outage occurred on Friday after a problem with high-voltage power lines caused a cascade of blackouts in parts of the network, Cuban authorities said.
State-owned energy company UNE said it had immediately started procedures to gradually restore power. By evening, power had been restored only to limited areas of Havana, mainly around hospitals and other critical facilities. According to the Associated Press, only about 5% of consumers in the capital had electricity at that time.
Der Spiegel describes the incident as the seventh complete failure of the power transmission system since the beginning of the year, while Reuters and AP talk about at least six major national or near-national outages in 2026. The difference is probably due to a different way of reporting partial and complete failures.
The cause of the latest accident was a failure in the transmission network, with unstable weather further complicating the situation. Even before the complete failure, the system was operating at a huge deficit – According to data cited by Der Spiegel, during peak hours, about 1,110 megawatts were available against a demand of approximately 3,200 megawatts.
Energy crisis deepens
The Cuban electricity system has been under severe pressure for years. Some of the thermal power plants are outdated and often break down, and the country is experiencing serious shortages of fuel and spare parts. Even when the national grid is working, power outages last more than 30 hours in some areas.
The situation worsened further this year after the United States tightened restrictions on oil supplies to Cuba. Reuters reports that US policy has effectively blocked a significant portion of external fuel supplies to the island. Venezuela, long Cuba's main crude oil supplier, halted supplies after political events in Caracas earlier this year.
According to the AP, Cuba has received only one significant seaborne fuel shipment since March - from a Russian tanker. The limited supplies are directly affecting the operation of thermal power plants and the ability to maintain reserve capacity.
The consequences are already going beyond energy
The prolonged outages are affecting transportation, businesses, water supplies, telecommunications and the health system. The power outages have made it difficult to store food and medicine, operate water pumps, and access the internet and mobile services.
Residents of Havana have told international agencies that in some areas, power is restored for only a short time, then disappears again for hours or even a whole day. The series of failures has further intensified public discontent in a country already experiencing a severe economic crisis and shortages of basic goods.
Tensions between Havana and Washington also continue to grow. A day before the latest outage, the US imposed new sanctions on 11 Cuban structures and representatives related to the nickel sector and military enterprises. The US administration claims that the measures are aimed at structures that benefit the ruling elite, while Cuban authorities blame the sanctions for deepening economic and energy problems.
UN human rights experts have also criticized the US restrictions, warning that the deteriorating supply of electricity, fuel and water poses serious risks to public health.
At present, Cuban energy authorities are continuing to gradually restore the system, but have not indicated when the power supply will be fully normalized.