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Cuba faces massive blackout, 57% of island to lose power
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Energy & Infrastructure

Cuba faces massive blackout, 57% of island to lose power

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency Context piece
  • Cuba faces extensive power outages, with 57% of the island expected to be without electricity during peak demand hours on Friday.
  • The nation is experiencing a severe energy crisis, exacerbated by U.S. oil sanctions, leading to prolonged blackouts across the country.
  • The state utility attributes the widespread outages to aging power plants, frequent breakdowns, and the impact of U.S. sanctions on fuel supplies.

Cuba is bracing for another day of severe electricity shortages, with projections indicating that 57% of the island will simultaneously lose power during peak demand hours on Friday. This marks the latest in a series of prolonged blackouts that have plagued the Caribbean nation since mid-2024, a crisis significantly worsened by U.S. oil sanctions imposed in January.

Cuba will experience another day of prolonged blackouts, and during the peak demand hours (afternoon-evening), the outage is expected to affect 57% of the country simultaneously.

— Article TextDescribing the projected scale of the power outage.

The state-run National Electric Union (UNE), under the Ministry of Energy and Mines, anticipates a generation capacity of 1,310 megawatts against a demand of 3,000 megawatts for the evening hours. This substantial deficit means an estimated 1,720 megawatts will need to be disconnected to prevent uncontrolled grid collapse. For many Cubans, particularly in Havana, daily electricity supply averages only four hours, while other parts of the island endure outages lasting up to two consecutive days.

The Caribbean nation has been facing a severe energy crisis since mid-2024, aggravated since January by the U.S. oil siege, a measure described by the United Nations as contrary to international law.

— Article TextExplaining the context and cause of the crisis.

The energy crisis is largely attributed to the obsolescence of the country's thermoelectric power plants, many of which have been in operation for decades without necessary investment. This has resulted in frequent breakdowns, with nine out of sixteen generation units currently offline. These plants, which account for 40% of the energy mix, are not directly impacted by the U.S. oil blockade as they use domestic crude.

Cubans, especially in Havana, have an average of four hours of electricity daily, while on the rest of the island, power cuts reach up to two consecutive days, leading the Cuban government to acknowledge the situation as 'critical'.

— Article TextIllustrating the severity of the daily impact on citizens.

However, another 40% of Cuba's energy relies on distributed generation using diesel and fuel oil, which is heavily affected by the U.S. sanctions, leading to shortages of essential fuel. The remaining 20% comes from gas and renewable sources, with a recent push towards solar energy supported by China. Cuba requires approximately 100,000 barrels of oil daily to meet its energy needs, but only produces 40,000 barrels domestically.

The UNE... anticipates for the peak demand period a generation capacity of 1,310 megawatts (MW) and a maximum demand of 3,000 MW.

— Article TextProviding specific figures on the energy deficit.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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