Cuba restores power after third nationwide blackout in less than 10 days

Cuban authorities said power had been restored across the country after the island's third nationwide outage in less than 10 days.

The state-run UNE electricity company said the latest blackout began at about 11:05 am on Tuesday, or 1505 GMT, leaving Cuba's 9.6 million people without electricity. After a gradual overnight restoration, UNE said the electrical system was fully functioning again at 7:00 am local time on Wednesday, or 1100 GMT.

UNE said the blackout was caused by a problem with a generating unit at a thermoelectric plant, which led to a sudden frequency change. It was the third complete blackout on the island since early July and the fifth since the start of 2026.

Cuba was already struggling with electricity supply before US President Donald Trump cut off its oil supplies in January, reducing fuel available for power plants. In both of the previous week's blackouts, restoring power across the island took more than 24 hours, a process made slower and more complex by fuel shortages. Outages in Havana lasted more than 30 hours at a time, while some provinces waited several days for electricity to return.

Residents described repeated disruptions and worry over food supplies. Maria Caridad Alvarez, a 62-year-old housewife, said the crisis was damaging people's enthusiasm for life. David Matias Rodriguez, an 82-year-old retiree, said he feared the few items in his refrigerator would spoil. In the worst-hit areas, residents have shown frustration by setting piles of trash on fire or banging pots and pans.

Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy said Tuesday that the situation was mainly due to the condition of Cuba's electrical system and was worsened by decisions by the United States. He said there was a total absence of fuel and that the government could not obtain spare parts for power plants.

Relations between Washington and Havana have been tense since the start of the year. The report said the United States has authorized the arrival of only one Russian tanker, carrying 100,000 tons of crude, in March, and that those reserves have since been exhausted. It also said the Trump administration has increased sanctions against Cuban state-owned businesses, leading many foreign companies to suspend operations in the country. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said late last month that no progress had been made in months of bilateral talks.