Cuba restored its national electricity grid on Thursday after a widespread outage that lasted around 16 hours, as officials linked the disruption to the impact of U.S. oil sanctions on the island’s energy supplies.
According to authorities at the Ministry of Energy, the national grid has been reconnected from the western to the eastern regions of the country. However, the system is still operating well below normal capacity. Lazaro Guerra, director of electricity at the ministry, said current generation stands at roughly 590 megawatts, compared with the grid’s typical capacity of about 2,000 megawatts.
In the capital Havana, electricity has gradually returned to parts of the city, with about 36% of residents regaining power as restoration efforts continue.
Officials said the blackout was exacerbated by fuel shortages and declining power generation. The situation worsened after Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba were halted in January, while additional U.S. measures have warned other countries against supplying oil to the island.
Cuba’s electricity provider, Union Electrica, said the outage was triggered by an unexpected failure at the Antonio Guiteras thermal power plant east of Havana. Repair work is expected to take three to four days before the plant can fully return to service.
Cuba has experienced repeated nationwide outages in recent years, even before the latest sanctions pressure. The country’s power infrastructure is aging and requires significant investment, while reduced fuel imports, especially from Venezuela, have left the system vulnerable to disruptions.
The island’s prolonged economic crisis has further limited the government’s ability to maintain and modernize the grid, increasing the risk of recurring blackouts.
Energy analysts warn that without new investment and stable fuel supplies, Cuba’s electricity network will continue to face periodic failures, particularly during periods of high demand.
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