South America19 September, 20263 min read
Cuba Restores Power After Total Blackout Leaves Millions Without Electricity
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Nationwide blackout after total disconnection left millions without power. High-voltage transmission-line failure triggered the grid collapse amid an energy crisis.
27 outlets told this the same way.
Outlets did split on Brazil Police Kill Suspect After 13 Kindergarteners Held Hostage In Curitiba →
Grid collapses again
Cuba suffered a total blackout on Friday, leaving millions without electricity after the Ministry of Energy and Mines said there was a "total disconnection" of the National Electro-Energy System. UNE said the outage was triggered by a failure "on the transmission lines" combined with "unstable weather conditions," and the blackout spread from the western part of the country as far as Matanzas province. By late evening, power was restored to some priority areas near hospitals and water pumping stations in Havana, while UNE said the process of "gradual restoration" was underway on Saturday.
In Havana, UNE reported that 48% of the population had access to electricity by Saturday evening, while other reports said power had been restored to 5% of users in Havana by dusk. Cuba’s energy crisis has been marked by repeated outages, with one account saying the island has experienced the seventh nationwide outage this year and another saying it was the eighth total disconnection so far in 2026.
Restoration and voices
UNE said it had activated restoration protocols after the blackout, and the BBC reported that protocols to begin "gradual restoration" were activated with the process ongoing on Saturday.
Felix Estrada, the UNE national load dispatch director, said the process was ongoing, while another report described him confirming on state television that priority was to feed critical circuits such as hospitals, potable water pumping plants, and communications centers.
Havana resident Frank Lorenzo told Reuters, "Lately, it's becoming a habit," adding that before it happened less frequently and that just yesterday the grid had been on for an hour before going down again.
Mercedes Rodriguez, a 60-year-old worker in Havana, said, "No one can stand these constant blackouts. There isn't enough food, there's no water, there's no electricity — you have no idea," as she waited for public transportation to return home.
The BBC reported that repeated blackouts have prompted rare protests in Cuba, where unauthorised demonstrations are illegal and those who defy the ban risk being jailed.
Fuel blockade and impact
Multiple reports tied the blackout cycle to Cuba’s fuel shortages and aging infrastructure, with one account saying the island’s thermal plants are obsolete and that since January the U.S. oil embargo has complicated fuel supplies for them and for backup generators. The BBC said Cuba relies heavily on fuel imports and that tight US sanctions and an oil blockade since the start of the year have exacerbated shortages, leaving food and medicine more scarce and hospitals struggling to function normally. A separate account said the blackout came as Cuba’s aging power generation system faced severe strain from fuel shortages and decrepit infrastructure, and it described the Friday failure in high-voltage transmission lines in central Cuba around 2pm local time.
The LaPresse/AP report said the two most recent national power cuts occurred in early August after those in July and March, and it described how even when the grid is functioning residents endure outages lasting more than 30 hours. With the grid down, the sources said the outages also disrupt water supply and telecommunications, and one report said electricity had been restored for 5% of users in Havana as night fell while restoration continued.