Cuba suffers new nationwide blackout, third in six months

Cuba plunged into darkness once again on Monday, suffering its third nationwide power outage since January. The state electricity company, UNE, confirmed a total disconnection from the national generation system and stated that investigations into the causes were underway. This marks the eighth such blackout on the island of 9.6 million people since late 2024, underscoring a severe and escalating energy crisis.

The impoverished nation's struggle to keep the lights on has been significantly worsened by a US oil blockade imposed in January. This action has drastically depleted the already dwindling fuel reserves necessary to operate Cuba's power plants, many of which are composed of aging Soviet-era machinery. The government has resorted to increasingly severe, rolling blackouts, with some areas experiencing over 24 hours without power, and rural regions facing outages exceeding 70 hours, in a desperate attempt to conserve scarce fuel.

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There has been a total disconnection from the national electricity generation system.

Power outages have long been a persistent issue in Cuba, but their frequency and duration have accelerated dramatically since the fuel blockade began. Authorities consistently cite a lack of fuel as the primary reason for the inability to run the generators that support the creaking national grid. The situation has been compounded by sanctions that have limited oil shipments, with only one tanker from Russia reportedly allowed to dock in Cuba since January, illustrating the profound impact of external pressures on the island's infrastructure and daily life.

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investigating the causes.