Cuba Blackout: Power Restored to Some After Third Nationwide Grid Collapse This Month

HAVANA — Cuba began restoring power Sunday after a nationwide grid collapse left millions without electricity for the third time this month, officials reported. As of early Sunday, approximately 72,000 customers in Havana, including five hospitals, had service restored, according to the state-run Electric Union and the Ministry of Energy and Mines. Yet, this represents a small fraction of the capital’s roughly 2 million residents.

The outage, which began Saturday, has prompted the deployment of local power microsystems in Havana and provinces such as western Matanzas and eastern Holguin to serve critical infrastructure. Residents in some areas of Havana reported power returning during the early morning hours, according to the Associated Press.

The Cuban government has attributed the ongoing energy crisis to a combination of factors, including a decaying infrastructure and a U.S. Energy blockade. President Donald Trump, in January, warned of tariffs on any country providing oil to Cuba, linking any easing of sanctions to the release of political prisoners and a move toward political and economic liberalization. Trump has also publicly discussed the possibility of a “friendly takeover of Cuba,” according to reports.

The removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by the U.S. Has also contributed to Cuba’s difficulties, halting critical petroleum shipments from a long-standing ally. President Miguel Díaz-Canel stated that the island has not received oil from foreign suppliers for three months, and Cuba currently produces only 40% of the fuel it needs.

The blackouts are having a significant impact on daily life. Suleydi Crespo, a 33-year-old Havana resident with two young children, told the Associated Press on Saturday that her refrigerator broke due to the power fluctuations. “If there’s no electricity tomorrow, we won’t be able to get water,” she said.

Residents are expressing growing frustration with the constant outages. Dagnay Alarcón, a 35-year-old vendor, stated, “We have to get used to continuing our usual routine. What else can we do? We have to try to survive. Get used to events, with or without electricity.”

The Cuban Electric Union reported that Saturday’s total disconnection of the national energy system was triggered by an unexpected shutdown of a generation unit at the Nuevitas thermoelectric plant in Camaguey province, but provided no specific details regarding the cause of the failure. A similar nationwide blackout occurred on Monday, with restoration taking several days.

Authorities acknowledge the severity of the situation. Vice Minister of Energy and Mines Argelio Abad Vigo explained this week that the country has gone three months without receiving supplies of diesel, fuel oil, gasoline, aviation fuel, or liquefied petroleum gas – all essential for the economy and power generation. Fuel sales for vehicles are being rationed, airlines have suspended or reduced flights, and many workplaces have reduced their hours.

María Regla Cardoso, a housewife in Havana, expressed a sense of resignation, stating, “I depart everything in God’s hands. Whatever form the situation takes, we just have to face it.”