Cuba Plunged into Darkness Amid Widespread Blackouts

Cuba’s national power grid experienced a widespread collapse on Friday, leaving millions of residents without electricity for at least the sixth time this year. The Ministry of Energy and Mines announced the islandwide outage on its official X account, stating that officials had begun implementing restoration protocols.

A failure in transmission lines in the western part of the country reportedly caused the system to collapse in that region, extending to Matanzas province, and subsequently disconnecting the eastern section of the island. The official newspaper Granma noted that “unstable” weather conditions exacerbated the grid's situation.

By dusk, approximately 5% of users in Havana, which has a total of about 862,000 customers, had power restored, according to official data. "Micro-islands" of power distribution were being established in the provinces of Camagüey, Pinar del Río, and Granma, with some systems serving hospitals and emergency facilities being reactivated.

Residents expressed frustration with the ongoing power disruptions. "No one can stand these constant blackouts. There isn’t enough food, there’s no water, there’s no electricity — you have no idea,” Mercedes Rodriguez, a 60-year-old worker in Havana, told The Associated Press. “The country is in such a sad state, and there are no words for what we’re going through.”

Power grid collapses have become increasingly frequent over the past two years, coinciding with a severe economic crisis gripping the island. These issues have worsened since January, following United States sanctions aimed at influencing Cuba's political system. These restrictions impede the island's ability to import necessary fuel for its thermoelectric power plants and procure spare parts for its aging infrastructure.

The most recent nationwide blackouts occurred in early August, following others in July and March, in addition to several regional outages. Even when the national grid is operational, Cubans frequently experience outages lasting over 30 hours. The cumulative impact of these blackouts, coupled with the energy embargo, has led to transportation limitations, reduced work hours, flight cancellations, and significant public health consequences, affecting basic services such as cooking, water supply, and communication networks.

Abilén Marrero, a homemaker in central Havana, shared the uncertainty faced by many: “Maybe it’ll come back this afternoon or tomorrow—there’s no way to know. We just have to wait.”