Cuba hit with seventh major blackout

TOUGH TIMES: Blackouts recently have lasted more than 30 hours in Havana, while those who live in provinces at times deal with more than 60 hours without electricity

Cuba was plunged into its seventh massive blackout of the year on Friday as fuel shortages wear on the US-blockaded island.

Just five percent of residents in the Cuban capital Havana had power on Friday evening.

“A total disconnection of the electrical system has occurred,” Cuba’s Ministry of Energy and Mines wrote on X.

A car travels along the darkened Malecon after sunset during a power outage in Havana on Friday.

Photo: Reuters

The nationwide blackout, the 12th since late 2024, occurred after a failure “in the transmission lines” paired with “unstable weather conditions,” state-run utility UNE said.

The island of more than 9 million people endures constant power cuts due to the poor state of its aging thermoelectric plants, but the situation has worsened significantly since January, when Washington imposed a de facto energy blockade on the island in a bid to pressure Havana’s communist government.

A severe lack of fuel makes it difficult to supply Cuba’s power plants and backup generators, which typically run on imported diesel.

“It’s one thing after another: no water, no gas for cooking, no electricity,” schoolteacher Lidia Fernandez said. “Honestly, I don’t know how we haven’t gone crazy.”

Over the past few weeks, blackouts have lasted more than 30 hours in the capital, while in provinces, they have sometimes stretched past 60 hours.

Retiree Francisco Rodriguez said his home had already gone without power for 28 hours on Friday.

“I thought they might at least turn the electricity back on for a few hours soon, but now... I think we won’t have light for several days,” he said.

The cuts have also affected the island’s water supply and mobile phone network, and general living conditions are extremely tough for residents.

“It’s no longer just the electricity. We’re having problems with water and gas as well,” Lazaro Reyes said.

Havana blames the crisis on an array of US-imposed punitive measures, while Washington attributes the hardship to poor internal management.

Another retiree, Zunilda Garcia, took the latest blackout in stride, stepping outside to charge a small lamp with solar energy.

“We have to wait and stay calm,” Garcia said. “We can’t lose hope.”