Millions of Cubans remain without power after a power outage in the national grid last night left the island without electricity.
This is the fourth major outage in the last six months amid a serious economic crisis in the Caribbean country.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines commented on the incident on social media, explaining that the outage was caused by a malfunction at a substation in the suburbs of Havana, the capital of Cuba.
Lazaro Guerra, the ministry's director of electricity, said on national television that power generation had already begun to supply vital services such as health facilities.
A statement from Cuba's Electricity Union on Saturday said the plan includes the creation of “micro-systems” that would link together to gradually restore power throughout the country.
Some of these systems are already in operation in the provinces of Guantanamo, Santiago, Las Tunas and Pinar del Rio.
Internet and telephone services were disrupted for more than 12 hours after the power outage, which occurred at around 8pm local time on Friday (12pm GMT on Saturday).
Cuba has already experienced similar outages in October, November and December. The latest incident was the first in 2025, but authorities suspended classes and work for two days in mid-February due to a shortage of more than 50% of the country's electricity generation.
Experts say the power outages are due to a shortage of fuel for power plants and outdated infrastructure. Most power facilities have been in operation for more than 30 years.
The power outages come amid a deep economic crisis that experts attribute to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, domestic measures that have led to inflation, and, most importantly, to the tightening of sanctions by the United States.
Many Cuban families rely on electric appliances to cook their food. Without electricity, food can defrost in refrigerators and likely spoil due to the island's tropical climate.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
