Cuba's power grid collapses again, leaving millions without electricity

September 19, 2026 at 03:27 PM3 min

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Cuba's national power grid suffered a total disconnection on Friday, triggering a nationwide blackout that left millions without electricity. Grid operator UNE said power was restored to some priority areas in Havana by late evening, including hospitals and water pumping stations. The outage is at least the sixth partial or total blackout to hit Cuba this year amid chronic fuel shortages and a US oil blockade.

Key Facts

Cuba's energy ministry said the national grid suffered a "total disconnection" on Friday, causing a nationwide outage.
Grid operator UNE said the outage started just before 14:00 local time (18:00 GMT) due to a transmission fault and poor weather in central Cuba.
By late evening, only about 5% of Havana's roughly 862,000 electricity customers had power restored, according to official data.
This is at least the sixth partial or total blackout in Cuba this year, with ageing infrastructure and fuel shortages worsened by US sanctions.
Havana resident Francisco Rodriguez, 78, said his home had already gone without power for 28 hours on Friday.

The Blackout

Cuba's energy ministry announced that the national electricity system suffered a "total disconnection" on Friday, triggering a nationwide outage. Grid operator UNE said the outage began just before 14:00 local time (18:00 GMT) due to a transmission fault combined with poor weather conditions in central Cuba. Cuban officials said the initial fault occurred in high-voltage transmission lines in the western and central parts of the country. The collapse spread from the western part of the system to the Matanzas region, after which the eastern electricity grid also disconnected from the system. State newspaper Granma reported that adverse and variable weather conditions further aggravated the problem in the electricity system.

Restoration Efforts

Protocols for the "gradual restoration" of power were activated, said Felix Estrada, UNE's national load dispatch director. By late evening, power had been restored to some priority areas in Havana, including those near hospitals and water pumping stations. Official data showed that only about 5% of Havana's roughly 862,000 electricity customers had power restored by evening. Small-scale independent electricity distribution systems were being set up in regions such as Camagüey, Pinar del Río, and Granma. The restoration process was ongoing on Saturday, according to UNE.

Energy Crisis Context

This is at least the sixth partial or total blackout to hit Cuba this year, where ageing electricity infrastructure and chronic fuel shortages have been placed under further strain by a US blockade on oil shipments. Cuba relies heavily on fuel imports, and tight US sanctions plus an oil blockade since the start of the year have exacerbated existing shortages. Food and medicine have also become more scarce, with hospitals struggling to function normally and schools and government offices having to close. Havana resident Frank Lorenzo told Reuters: "Lately, it's becoming a habit... just yesterday we were 24 hours without electricity, they turned it on for just an hour and it went down again." Schoolteacher Lidia Fernandez, 36, told AFP: "It's one thing after another: no water, no gas for cooking, no electricity. Honestly, I don't know how we haven't gone crazy."