No power, no water, no transport: Life in blackout-hit Cuba leaves Gustavo frustrated

Gustavo's routine could belong to any 25-year-old professional in Havana: he goes to the gym in the morning, works at an art gallery in central Havana and spends weekends visiting exhibitions he later reviews for a magazine. But Cuba's worst energy crisis in decades has disrupted nearly every part of that life.

The blackouts in his neighborhood often last about 16 hours a day. Public transport is also scarce, forcing him to plan every trip carefully. A taxi can cost a third of his monthly salary. At home, the water may disappear for entire weeks, and Gustavo often spends the night with a flashlight on his balcony, trying to escape the heat.

"It affects even the things you would least imagine," he says.

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It affects even the things you would least imagine.

Cuba's National Electric System, operated by the state utility Unión Eléctrica, has collapsed seven times this year. The country's power infrastructure is old and technologically obsolete, while investment in maintenance and modernization has fallen short. Thermal power plants now produce only a fraction of their capacity.

The Cuba Study Group attributes the network's condition to "insufficient and poorly prioritized domestic resources, compounded by weak implementation capacity." The grid also depends heavily on fossil fuels that Cuba lacks. Fuel shortages worsened this year after the United States imposed what the account describes as a de facto energy blockade. In January, President Donald Trump threatened countries supplying oil to Cuba with tariffs, and Venezuelan shipments ended after the detention of President Nicolás Maduro in January.

US officials have said the goal is to increase pressure until Cuba's revolutionary government falls. Meanwhile, the effects are being felt by people such as Gustavo, whose daily problems unfold within a long-running economic crisis.

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insufficient and poorly prioritized domestic resources, compounded by weak implementation capacity