Cuba stayed with little power on Saturday morning after the island nation's grid collapsed the night before, knocking out 10 million people and raising new questions about the viability of an outdated power generation system.
At Sunrise, the island's grid operator UNE said it is generating only about 225 MW, or less than 10% of total demand, sufficient to cover several important services such as hospitals, water supply and food production centres.
Cuba works to reestablish electrical services after the second grid collapse
Officials said they began the process of firing plants from a generation of decades ago in the country, but did not give them a timeline to restore services.
The Cuban grid failed on Friday evening, around 8:15pm (0015 GMT). The aging components of the transmission lines at Havana's substations have shorted, launching a chain reaction that completely shuts down power generation across the island.
On March 14th, 2025, people walk on the streets in Havana, Cuba, while the national electrical grid collapses. (Reuters/Nolyse Perez)
The collapse of the grid followed a series of nationwide blackouts at the end of last year, highlighting Cuba's fragile power generation systems to near-fuel shortages, natural disasters and economic crises.
Most Cubans outside of the country's capital, Havana, have already lived for months after blackouts, which peaked in 20 hours a day in recent weeks.
Havana still had little electricity on Saturday morning. Light traffic navigated through intersections without functioning stoplights or cellular internet, and was weak or absent in some areas.
Abel Bonne chatted with friends on Havana's Malecon Waterfront Boulevard early Saturday, taking pictures of fresh sea breezes after a powerless, stifling night.
“Now, no one knows when power will return,” he said. “This is the first time this year, but last year it happened three times.”
For many Cubans, a severe shortage of food, medicine and water has made life even more unbearable for many Cubans, and people have fled the island in record numbers in recent years.
Cuba blames the economic issue of being a web of laws and regulations that complicate the US trade embargo during the Cold War, financial transactions, and acquisition of essentials such as fuel and spare parts.
Officials on the grid Saturday morning said Cuba was unable to update its outdated transmission and power generation components due to restrictions.
US President Donald Trump recently vowed to tighten sanctions on the island's communist-run government and restore longtime “severe” policies against the US enemy.
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Unior Reyes, a bicycle taxi driver from Havana, returned to work Saturday morning despite the blackouts and worried that his food might be ruined in the heat of the day.
“We're all in the same situation,” he said. “That's a lot of work.”
