Cuba's National Electric System suffers second total blackout this week

Cuba's National Electric System (SEN) suffered a total blackout on Friday at 4:30 PM local time, marking the second such incident this week and the fourth in 2026. The Ministry of Energy and Mines (Minem) announced the disconnection on social media, stating that recovery protocols had been activated.

The island has been grappling with a profound energy crisis since mid-2024, intensified over the past three months by a U.S. oil embargo that has led to unprecedented power outages. In March, the nation experienced two national blackouts within a single week due to total SEN disconnections.

Based on past experiences, restoring the SEN is a lengthy and complex procedure that can take days. It involves starting power generation with simple sources like solar and hydroelectric power, gradually supplying energy to small areas before interconnecting them. The ultimate goal is to provide sufficient power to the country's thermoelectric power plants, the backbone of Cuba's electricity generation, enabling them to produce energy in large quantities to meet demand.

The cause of the latest blackout, the ninth reported in nearly two years, has not yet been disclosed. Last Monday, another total collapse of the system occurred, with power gradually restored over the following 36 hours. In recent weeks, record-breaking power outages have been reported, with up to 70-72% of the country experiencing blackouts simultaneously during peak demand. In some areas of Havana, power outages have lasted over 35 consecutive hours, and in other provinces, three consecutive days without electricity have been recorded.