Cuba's electrical grid collapsed Friday afternoon, marking the second island-wide outage in a week and fourth this year amid fuel shortages.
10:42 PM
Cuba experienced its second nationwide blackout in five days on Friday, with the state electricity company reporting a total collapse of the national electric system at 4:30 p.m. local time.
The Union Electrica de Cuba announced the outage on social media, stating that protocols were being activated to begin recovery operations. No immediate explanation was provided by Cuban authorities for the blackout.
The Friday outage follows a similar power failure that occurred Monday through Tuesday of this week. Combined with two additional blackouts in March, Cuba has now experienced four island-wide outages since the start of 2026. This marks the ninth nationwide power outage since 2024.
Cuban citizens reported that the Friday blackout occurred amid heavy rainfall in Havana, according to accounts provided to Colombian newspaper El Tiempo.
Authorities attributed Monday's outage to voltage instability and low levels of electricity output. Most of the country was reconnected to the grid by late Tuesday.
Cuba's electrical infrastructure has deteriorated significantly over the past six months. The island nation has faced a U.S. fuel blockade that has exacerbated existing energy challenges. Much of Cuba's electricity system dates to the Cold War era and is increasingly aged, contributing to the frequency of outages.
The energy crisis intensified in recent months, with the fuel embargo leading to record-breaking blackouts. The situation has left millions of Cubans without power during each outage.
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