Western Cuba faces blackout as government seeks to update energy grid

Cuba has suffered different blackout that temporarily knocked retired powerfulness to the occidental broadside of the Caribbean island, a portion that includes the superior Havana.

The country’s Ministry of Energy and Mines announced connected Wednesday that the blackout began astir 5am section clip (10:00 GMT). It past declared each systems restored astatine astir 1:26pm (18:26 GMT).

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For hours, millions of residents remained successful the acheronian arsenic the authorities worked to reconstruct powerfulness to an country that spans from the westernmost state of Pinar del Rio to Mayabeque, conscionable eastbound of Havana.

Throughout the morning, officials sought to reassure the nationalist that energy would soon beryllium restored.

“Following the powerfulness outage successful occidental Cuba, the workers astatine [the Ministry of Energy and Mines] instantly began restoration efforts, which are already nether way,” Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz wrote connected societal media.

“We are alert of their bonzer efforts to execute this arsenic rapidly arsenic possible.”

But powerfulness outages person been a regular root of consternation successful Cuba — and a grounds of its crumbling electrical grid.

In 2024 alone, astatine slightest five large powerfulness grid failures disrupted beingness connected the island, sparking uncommon protests against the authorities successful cities similar Santiago de Cuba.

The inclination of repeated outages has continued into 2025, with a major blackout successful September blamed connected a malfunctioning thermoelectric plant.

Multiple pressures connected grid

Cuba’s National Electric System (SEN) is ageing. Much of the powerfulness grid is considered outdated, with a dense reliance connected fossil fuels from sources similar Venezuela.

Most of the infrastructure besides dates to the Cold War era. It saw a leap successful operation successful the 1980s, and by 1989, the grid was expanded to scope 95 percent of each households.

In caller years, Cuba has invested successful renewable vigor arsenic an alternate to its existent vigor accumulation model.

In April 2024, for instance, the Caribbean federation inked a woody with China to unfastened 92 star farms by 2028. The archetypal of those star plants opened successful February of this year.

But earthy disasters, peculiarly hurricanes, person posed continued hurdles to energy organisation connected the island.

In precocious September, for instance, Hurricane Imelda churned done the Caribbean Sea, bringing floods and landslides to Cuba, wherever astatine slightest 2 radical died.

Then, successful October, Cuba was struck again, this clip by Hurricane Melissa, 1 of the astir aggravated Atlantic storms connected record.

The hurricane had slowed to a Category 3 tempest by the clip it made landfall successful Cuba, but it nevertheless pounded the land with much flash floods, leaving homes destroyed and thousands displaced.

Cuban officials person besides blamed the United States for contributing to the island’s limping infrastructure.

Since 1962, the US has placed Cuba nether a wide-reaching embargo, which critics accidental has undermined the island’s economy.

Despite efforts to loosen the sanctions successful caller decades, the medication of US President Donald Trump has kept the embargo successful place, citing reports of quality rights abuses nether the Cuban government.

Nevertheless, successful October, a bulk ballot astatine the United Nations General Assembly erstwhile again passed a non-binding solution calling connected the US to extremity its embargo, arsenic portion of an yearly appeal.

The economical sanctions, the solution argues, are disproportionately punitive.

President blames US ‘blockade’

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel connected Wednesday cited that rationale, on with the toll of the caller storms, arsenic challenges impeding the due functioning of the electrical grid.

“The workers astatine [the Ministry of Energy and Mines], who ne'er remainder amidst the regular challenges imposed by the blockade and the betterment efforts pursuing Hurricane Melissa, are already moving to resoluteness the issue,” Diaz-Canel wrote. “Once again, we person religion successful them.”

Since taking bureau successful 2019, Diaz-Canel has faced important unit from the blackouts and the nationalist unrest they cause.

In 2021, amid the economical fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and shortages of basal supplies similar fuel, thousands of Cubans took to the streets to protestation deteriorating conditions connected the island. Among their complaints were the regular blackouts the land faces.

Those protests coincided with a record-setting wide exodus from Cuba. Estimates alteration arsenic to the island’s population, but authorities statistic bespeak that, successful 2021, the full fig of residents was astir 11,113,215.

As of 2024, that fig has plummeted to 9,748,532. That suggests a steep colonisation driblet of much than 12 percent, overmuch of which is attributed to migration disconnected the island.

That diminution corresponds to a spike successful Cuban arrivals documented by the US Customs and Border Protection agency.

For fiscal twelvemonth 2023, the bureau reported 200,287 “encounters” with Cuban migrants attempting to participate the United States. For fiscal twelvemonth 2024, that fig roseate to 217,615.

Under Trump, however, the US has this period suspended each migration applications from Cuba and 18 different countries the Republican president has described arsenic “third world”.