Progress has been made in restoring power across Cuba, yet much of the island remained without electricity on Saturday following a catastrophic failure of the electrical grid that occurred twice within a single day.
The outage began around 11 a.m. on Friday when the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, the largest on the island, experienced a failure, plunging nearly all of Cuba’s 10 million residents into darkness.
Efforts to restore electricity were underway when a second complete grid collapse occurred at approximately 6:15 a.m. on Saturday, triggering widespread alarm.
As the country grapples with these challenges, Hurricane Oscar has formed off the Bahamas, prompting the Cuban government to issue a hurricane watch for several eastern provinces, including Guantanamo, Holguin, and Las Tunas.
On Saturday, the streets of Havana were eerily quiet, with very few cars and non-functioning traffic lights. Residents scoured the city for food, as much of the perishable items in their refrigerators had spoiled.
While a limited number of stores opened their doors, many operated without power, relying on generators, especially the privately owned establishments.
In the upscale Vedado neighborhood, the government initiated an open-air market in a local park, offering a selection of agricultural products such as root vegetables, rice, and a variety of other vegetables to assist residents.
Frustration and anxiety permeated Old Havana as residents voiced their concerns.
“I pray this is resolved as fast as possible because it’s unbearable,” said Alexia de la Cruz, who stood outside her home. “The situation has become very dire.”
Her neighbour, Luis Utria, expressed similar sentiments, stating, “The situation is intolerable. Bad enough to explode.”
Some residents pointed towards potential political solutions to Cuba’s chronic blackout issues.
“This problem can be solved by making an agreement with our closest country, [the U.S.] which we do not want to be friends with or make any concessions to,” remarked a 74-year-old man who preferred to remain unnamed.
On Saturday, a small protest erupted in Marianao on the outskirts of Havana, where a group of individuals were seen banging pots and blocking a road.
The gathering dispersed quickly when police arrived on the scene.
Cuba has long struggled with power outages, a situation that has only worsened in recent months.
Prior to Friday’s collapse, the government had attempted to stave off a total blackout by closing schools and keeping most state employees home in an effort to conserve energy, but these measures proved insufficient.
The island’s aging infrastructure requires continuous maintenance, and the government has frequently cited the decades-old U.S. embargo as a major barrier to importing necessary parts.
Alongside this, increasing energy demands and fuel shortages have also contributed to the ongoing crisis. In various provinces outside of Havana, residents have faced power outages lasting up to 20 hours.
During a state-run newscast on Friday night, President Miguel Díaz-Canel assured that efforts would continue until electrical service was fully restored, placing blame on the U.S. embargo for the lack of fuel and hard currency essential for the power system.
He warned that even after power was reinstated, regular blackouts would persist throughout the nation.
Cuba’s Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez, echoed this sentiment on X, asserting that the damage inflicted by the embargo over the past 18 days is equivalent to the annual cost of maintaining the national electric system.
He emphasized that if the embargo were lifted, blackouts would be eliminated, stating, “The U.S. government could support the people of Cuba …, if it wanted.”
Cuba’s economic turmoil has been exacerbated by tightened U.S. sanctions imposed during former President Donald Trump’s administration and the catastrophic impact the pandemic had on tourism—a key revenue source for the government.
With a state-dominated economy reliant on imports and facing a severe shortage of hard currency, Cubans have been struggling with widespread shortages of food, medicine, water, and fuel.
Moreover, the supply of oil has significantly diminished after Venezuela, Cuba’s primary ally and oil supplier, reduced its shipments to the island. Other traditional suppliers, including Russia and Mexico, have also scaled back their deliveries.
The ongoing economic crisis has driven a wave of emigration, with over one million people—approximately 10% of Cuba’s population—leaving the island between 2022 and 2023, according to statistics from the country’s national office.
