Cuba Plunged Into Darkness Again as Nationwide Blackout Marks Third Collapse in March

A failure at a key power plant triggered another island-wide outage, underscoring ongoing strain from fuel shortages and aging infrastructure.

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom

Cuba experienced another nationwide power outage Saturday, marking the third time this month the island’s electrical grid has collapsed, according to officials.

The Cuban Electric Union, which operates under the Ministry of Energy and Mines, initially confirmed a total blackout across the country without specifying a cause. Authorities later said the outage stemmed from an unexpected failure at a generating unit within the Nuevitas thermoelectric plant in Camagüey province.

Officials said the malfunction triggered a chain reaction across the system. “From that moment, a cascading effect occurred in the machines that were online,” the Ministry of Energy and Mines said, adding that emergency protocols were activated to restore limited service.

To mitigate the disruption, technicians established localized “micro-islands” of electricity generation to supply critical infrastructure, including hospitals and water systems. Crews continued working to restore broader service across the island.

The blackout follows a pattern of repeated failures. Saturday’s outage was the second in less than a week and the third major collapse in March alone, according to reporting on the incident . Authorities have pointed to ongoing stress on the system caused by deteriorating infrastructure and persistent fuel shortages.

Cuba has experienced increasingly frequent outages over the past two years, with some regions enduring daily blackouts lasting up to 12 hours. These rolling outages, combined with sudden nationwide failures, have placed additional strain on the electrical grid and daily life.

The disruptions have affected households and essential services across the country. Residents have faced reduced work hours, difficulty preparing food, and spoilage of refrigerated goods. In some cases, medical facilities have postponed procedures due to power instability.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel has said the country has not received oil shipments from foreign suppliers for three months, noting that domestic production meets only about 40% of national demand . The shortfall has compounded challenges tied to maintaining aging power infrastructure.

Government officials have attributed the crisis in part to restrictions on fuel imports linked to U.S. policy. Measures announced earlier this year warned of penalties for countries supplying oil to Cuba, contributing to a reduction in external shipments and tightening available supply.

The situation has also been affected by the loss of petroleum deliveries from Venezuela, which had previously served as a key energy partner. The decline in shipments has further constrained Cuba’s ability to sustain consistent electricity generation.

The recurring outages come as the island continues to face broader economic pressures, with energy instability affecting transportation, food storage, healthcare services, and overall daily activity. Authorities have not provided a timeline for full restoration of power following the latest collapse.