Cuban Blackout Leaves Millions in Darkness Amid Energy Crisis

HAVANA, Cuba — Millions in Cuba remain without power after a national blackout that began Friday night due to a substation failure in the capital, Havana. The blackout, noted as one of the worst in recent months, has left essential services disrupted, raising concerns over food preservation and public safety.

The Cuba Ministry of Energy and Mines confirmed on social media that the outage began around 8 p.m. local time Friday, attributing the incident to technical issues at a suburban substation. By Saturday evening, many areas still lacked electricity, including parts of Havana and eastern provinces. Even internet and phone services were reported as intermittent.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel announced on X that authorities are diligently working to restore power, urging residents to remain patient as the process unfolds. “We are working intensely to restore stability,” he wrote.

Lázaro Guerra, the director of electricity at the ministry, appeared on national television, reassuring the public that electricity generation was underway to support critical services like hospitals. “We are creating microsystems in various provinces to gradually restore power across the nation,” Guerra said. Reports indicated that areas in Guantánamo, Santiago, Las Tunas, and Pinar del Río had already achieved partial restoration using these systems.

The impact on daily life has been significant. Many Cuban households rely on electric equipment for cooking, leaving families worried about spoiled food. “I was about to prepare dinner when the power cut out. Now, what do I do?” said Cecilia Duquense, a 79-year-old resident in Central Havana.

In response to the ongoing crisis, residents flocked to stores to shop for non-perishable food, with many businesses operating on backup power. “We are very anxious about our food going bad if this continues,” voiced Frank García, a 26-year-old market worker.

The blackouts come as Cuba grapples with a severe economic crisis characterized by soaring inflation, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic and tightened U.S. sanctions. Experts have cited aging infrastructure and fuel shortages as primary causes for the repeated power failures. Critics point out that most power plants in Cuba are over 30 years old.

Furthermore, the national electricity union revealed that 42% of the electricity system was offline. This massive outage marks a continuation of a troubling trend; Cuba endured similar outages in late 2024. In February 2025 alone, authorities paused classes and operations for two days at a time when electricity generation fell below 50% of demand.

Over the past months, the government has contracted floating generating plants from Turkey to bolster electricity supply, particularly during summer’s peak demand. Plans for additional solar power facilities are also in the pipeline, aimed to begin operations later this year.

As power gradually returns, many Cubans remain hopeful but cautious about future outages. The current crisis demands swift governmental action to prevent further disruptions and ensure a stable power supply for the island.