Cuba’s national electricity grid failed late Sunday, according to the state-run grid operator, leaving much of the island nation of roughly 10 million people without power as nationwide blackouts grow increasingly common.
The collapse came after three countrywide outages in July and amid mounting pressure from a US-imposed oil blockade, which has deepened the strain on Cuba’s aging energy system.
Union Electrica de Cuba announced the grid failure in posts on X and Facebook but did not immediately provide additional details about the scale of the outage or when service might be restored.
Cuba’s power network has been under growing stress as the government struggles to secure enough fuel imports to keep electricity plants running.
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The island lost a crucial fuel lifeline after an oil blockade imposed by US President Donald Trump, following Washington’s January 3 ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Venezuela had for years been Cuba’s main oil supplier, while fuel imports from Mexico have also stopped amid intensified US pressure.
The worsening electricity crisis comes as Cuba cautiously opens parts of its tightly controlled energy sector, a shift driven by acute fuel shortages and severe US sanctions.
Havana recently approved its first foreign-backed fuel import venture and allowed nearly 200 Cuban companies to take part in wholesale fuel distribution.
