Cuba suffers new nationwide blackout, its fourth in six months

Cuba suffered a new widespread blackout on Friday night caused by a breakdown in its national power system, the fourth in less than six months, in a country facing a severe economic crisis.

"At around 8:15 p.m. tonight, a breakdown ... caused the significant loss of generation in western Cuba and with it the fall of the National Electric System (SEN)," the Ministry of Energy and Mines reported on X.

The fault occurred at the Diezmero substation, on the outskirts of Havana, according to the authority.

With a worn-out power generation system, the island of 9.7 million inhabitants reported three widespread blackouts in the last quarter of last year, two of them lasting several days.

This occurs while the communist island faces a deep economic crisis, the worst in 30 years, which has caused shortages of food, medicine, fuel and a growing inflation, added to the intensification of the repression by the regime against citizens and the lack of freedoms that Cubans have.

"Faced with the unexpected disconnection of the national electricity system, we are already working tirelessly for its prompt recovery," Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz also said on X.

Authorities indicated shortly before midnight that in some provinces independent circuits had been activated that illuminated small priority sectors, such as hospitals or other essential services.

Fourth nationwide blackout in six months

This is the first nationwide blackout in 2025, although the population faces almost daily blackouts of four or five hours in much of Havana, while in the rest of the provinces these periods without electricity can last up to more than 20 hours.

Along with the disconnection of the national energy system, and the extensive blackouts, the Caribbean country also suffers a constant drop in internet connection, which interferes with access to information and other online services necessary for the daily loves of Cubans.

The country's eight worn-out thermoelectric plants, almost all of which were inaugurated in the 1980s and 1990s, suffer constant breakdowns. The floating power plants leased to a Turkish company and the generators, which complement the national energy system, run on fuel that Cuba imports with great difficulty and which is often in short supply.

In view of the emergency, the Cuban government is working at full speed on the installation of at least 55 solar parks using Chinese technology in 2025, which will generate 1,200 megawatts, and which, according to authorities, will allow the country to reach 12% of its electricity generation with renewable energy.

By 2030, Cuba plans to generate more than 2,000 megawatts with solar energy, which will make 37% of its electricity come from renewables. In the meantime, there is no short-term solution to resolve this situation for Cubans who remain on the island.