Cuba Faces Island-Wide Power Outage Amid Ongoing Energy Crisis

Cuba experienced a sweeping power outage on Monday, casting millions into darkness as its ongoing energy crisis continues to burden a fragile power infrastructure. The blackout impacted around 10 million people before some areas saw limited power restored.

In a morning announcement, the state electricity cooperative stated that “a complete shutdown of the national electricity system is occurring,” adding that the investigation into the cause was underway.

The island has long been plagued by persistent fuel shortages and a deteriorating power grid, and in recent years, power outages have become increasingly common. The situation deteriorated further in January when former President Donald Trump hinted at imposing stricter sanctions alongside tariffs on nations supplying oil to Cuba.

Public transportation came to a standstill during the outage, leading to the cancellation of tens of thousands of surgeries nationwide, as reported by the Associated Press. After roughly two hours, officials announced that one power generation unit was back online. The electricity union assured that “microsystems are already in operation across the country to ensure the protection of essential services.”

The energy minister remarked that they were striving to restore power while placing some blame on the United States for exacerbating the energy crisis. “Amid this complex situation, exacerbated by the energy blockade we are facing, essential services continue to be protected,” Vicente de la O Levi stated.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel condemned U.S. policy, labeling the energy blockade as “genocidal.” He remarked, “While the United States is trying to provoke a social explosion of suffocation by cutting off fuel access to Cuba, UNE is mobilizing to reverse the SEN shutdown,” referring to the state-run electricity system. He praised electrical workers for their efforts during such trying times.

This energy crisis intensified earlier this year following a U.S. military operation that involved the detention of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, which stopped Venezuelan oil exports and critically impacted Cuba’s fuel supply. Currently, Cuba generates only about 40% of the fuel it needs. Russian tankers had delivered roughly 730,000 barrels of crude oil to the island in March, but by the end of April, those supplies were exhausted.

To manage the fuel shortage, the Cuban government has implemented rolling blackouts that can last more than 24 hours in some regions. The power outage earlier this month affected western provinces, while another blackout plunged the entire nation into darkness soon after.