Power restored in eastern Cuba after outage

HAVANA: Power was restored in eastern Cuba on Saturday, several hours after an outage caused by a partial grid failure, the national power company said, as the island reels from a months-long US oil blockade.

"The partial disconnection of the national grid in the eastern region is over," Union Electrica de Cuba (UNE) said.

Nearly three hours earlier, the company said a failure on the line linking Nuevitas to Tunas province had sparked an outage, without specifying how many provinces were affected.

Cuba, a nation of 9.4 million people, has suffered repeated power outages, and rolling blackouts can last up to 20 hours a day. These outages also affect water supplies and telephone services.

The problems are due in part to ageing energy infrastructure, with power plants falling into disrepair and requiring weeks of maintenance.

Since January, the United States has effectively cut off the oil supply to Cuba as part of a multi-faceted pressure campaign, complicating the delivery of fuel needed to keep backup generators running.

Cuba has experienced seven nationwide blackouts since the start of the year, and a dozen since late 2024.

UNE says fuel shortages make the network more vulnerable to outages.

Two years ago, the government launched a major programme to install solar panels with China's backing. According to official data, renewable sources account for 21 per cent of Cuba's energy mix.

Relations between the United States and Cuba have been tense since the start of 2026, when US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, a major ally of Havana.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has asserted that Cuba, located 150km off the coast of Florida, poses an "extraordinary threat" to US national security and has not ruled out military intervention to prompt economic and political reforms.