A total blackout swept across Cuba on Wednesday, the second island-wide outage this year and the latest in a string of power interruptions blamed on aging infrastructure and fuel shortages.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines said on the social platform X that the outage could be tied to a malfunction at one of the country’s largest thermoelectric plants. Vice Minister Argelio Abad told state television that the national grid shut down after what officials described as an apparently erroneous message warning of overheating disconnected the plant. Authorities said crews were working to restore power and had begun to build a microsystem to deliver electricity to facilities providing basic services.
State-run broadcasters said electricity was being returned first to hospitals, food production plants and other high-priority businesses. Prime Minister Manuel Marrero appeared at the offices of the island’s state-run power company and asked Cubans for their trust, saying electricity would be restored gradually.
The island of roughly 10 million people has experienced multiple outages in recent months. Cuban officials reported three major blackouts late last year and an island-wide interruption earlier this year. In February, the government suspended classes and work activities for two days because of a shortfall in electricity generation. Earlier this week, an outage left much of the country’s eastern provinces, from Las Tunas to Guantánamo, without power for several hours.
In Havana, home to about two million people, streets were calmer than expected but many residents left their homes to buy necessities before nightfall. Traffic lights were dark and social and cultural activities were suspended. Some gas stations continued to dispense fuel via pumps.
"If you buy something, you don’t know if you’ll be able to keep it. Many people’s food has spoiled," said 65-year-old Mayté García, who said she was outside taking in the fresh air while waiting for power to return. Katie Cárdenas, a 48-year-old public employee, said she had gone out to buy bread and feared shortages of basic goods.
Internet service in parts of Havana slowed or dropped intermittently during the outage, residents said. The repeated interruptions have prompted some Cubans to invest in backup power: small generators, rechargeable devices and, for some better-off households and small entrepreneurs, solar panels.
Cuban officials attribute recurring failures to aging thermoelectric plants, many of which have operated for more than three decades, and to shortages of fuel. Government statements and international analysts say U.S. sanctions, intended to pressure Cuba’s political system, have compounded the problem by limiting the government’s ability to secure the foreign currency needed to buy fuel and repair equipment.
Authorities said restoration work continued through the day, with crews focusing on reconnecting large generating units and reestablishing supplies to critical infrastructure. No immediate timetable for full restoration was offered.
The blackout underscores a broader economic and energy supply crisis that the Cuban government has acknowledged publicly. Officials have repeatedly urged patience as they seek to stabilize the grid and said they are prioritizing hospitals and food production to reduce the immediate humanitarian impact.
Local officials and national energy authorities have said they will provide updates as repairs proceed and as power is gradually restored across the island.