Cuba still largely without power after the collapse of the network throughout the country

Cuba remained largely without energy on Saturday morning, after the nation network of the island collapsed the night before, eliminating electricity for 10 million people and raising new questions about the viability of its outdated generating system.

At dawn, the Island grid The UNE operator said it was generating only a drip of electricity: around 225 MW, or less than 10% of the total demand, sufficient to cover some vital services such as hospitals, water supply and food production centers.

Cuba that works to restore the electric service after the collapse of the second grid

The authorities said they had begun the process of activating the country’s generation plants, but that they did not give a schedule to restore the service.

The Cuba grid failed on Friday night around 8:15 pm (0015 GMT) after an aging component of a transmission line in a short substation in Havana in short, starting a chain reaction that completely closed the generation of energy on the island, UNE officials said.

People walk down the street during a collapse of the National Electric Red, in Havana, Cuba, on March 14, 2025. (Reuters/Norlys Pérez)

The collapse of the grid follows a series of blackouts nationwide at the end of last year that sank the Cuba Energy Generation System in an almost total disorder, stressed by the shortage of fuel, the natural disaster and the economic crisis.

Most Cubans outside the capital of the country of Havana I have already been living for months with blackouts that reached their maximum point at 20 hours a day in recent weeks.

Havana was still largely without electricity on Saturday morning. Light traffic sailed at intersections without traffic lights in operation and cell internet was weak or non -existent in some areas.

Abel Bonne spoke with friends at the Boulevard of Malecon Waterfront in Havana at dawn on Saturday, taking the fresh sea breeze after a night loaded without energy.

“At this time, nobody knows when power will return,” he said. “This is the first time this happened this year, but last year it happened three times.”

The serious shortage of food, medicine and water has made life more and more unbearable for many Cubans, and people have been fleeing the island in recent years in record numbers.

Cuba blames his economic problems in a It was of the cold war Emerco from the United States, a network of laws and regulations that complicate financial transactions and the acquisition of essential elements such as fuel and spare parts.

A grid official on Saturday morning said that Cuba had not been able to update the outstrained transmission and generation components due to restrictions.

The president of the United States, Donald Trump, twisted the sanctions to the communist government of the island, promising to restore a “hard” policy towards the American enemy for a long time.

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The resident of Havana, Yunior Reyes, a bicycle taxi driver, returned to work on Saturday morning despite the blackout, worried that their food reserves could spoil in the heat of the day.

“We are all in the same situation,” he said. “It’s a lot of work.”