Cuba experienced an islandwide power outage on Monday as its fuel reserves reached critical lows, further straining its already fragile electric grid. The state-run Electric Union confirmed the blackout, initiating an investigation into its cause. The Ministry of Energy and Mines announced that protocols were activated to restore electricity.
Fuel shortages have plagued the island nation since January, intensified by U.S. threats of tariffs on countries supplying oil to Cuba. This has deepened the country's ongoing economic and financial crisis, leading to the halt of most public transportation and the cancellation of tens of thousands of surgeries. Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy stated that vital services were being protected and microsystems were operating shortly after the outage, referencing the "energy blockade" as a complicating factor.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel accused the United States of attempting to incite social unrest by restricting fuel supplies. He described the efforts of electrical workers amid what he termed a "genocidal energy blockade" as heroic.
Residents expressed concern over the prolonged outage. Lina May voiced worries about cooking and accessing basic necessities, considering the purchase of charcoal as an alternative. Richard Valdés described the blackout as the latest in a series of hardships, noting the loss of power, water, and gas services.
Cuba produces only 40% of its fuel needs, and a shipment of 730,000 barrels of oil from Russia in late March was depleted by the end of April. The government has also been implementing rolling blackouts, some lasting over 24 hours, to manage rationing.
This is not the first widespread outage in recent months. A blackout in mid-May affected the eastern provinces, and a full island blackout occurred in mid-March. Mario Pedroso, a Havana resident, expressed resignation, stating that the lack of incoming oil has left the problem unsolved and that Cubans must "resist."