Cuba experienced its third nationwide power outage of the year on Monday after the country’s electricity grid suffered a complete system failure, according to the state-run power utility.
The Unión Eléctrica (UNE) said there had been a “total disconnection” of the national electricity generation system and that authorities were investigating the cause of the blackout.
The latest outage marks the eighth nationwide grid failure since late 2024, underscoring the severity of Cuba’s prolonged energy crisis.
The island nation of about 9.6 million people has been grappling with chronic electricity shortages, with authorities enforcing extended power cuts in an effort to conserve limited fuel supplies.
In parts of Havana, residents have reportedly faced outages lasting more than 24 consecutive hours, while some rural areas have experienced electricity cuts exceeding 70 hours.
Cuba’s energy challenges have been exacerbated by dwindling fuel supplies. The country was already struggling to maintain electricity generation before the United States, under President Donald Trump, imposed new restrictions on oil supplies earlier this year.
Power outages have become a recurring feature of daily life in Cuba, where much of the national electricity network relies on ageing Soviet-era power plants that have suffered from decades of underinvestment and maintenance issues.
