Cuba begins recovery after second nationwide power grid collapse in a week

Sunday 22 March 2026 - 13:00

Authorities in Cuba have launched recovery efforts after the country’s national electricity grid collapsed for the second time in less than a week, leaving millions without power and highlighting the fragility of the island’s energy infrastructure.

The latest outage occurred after a major power plant in the eastern province of Camagüey went offline, triggering a cascading failure that cut electricity to nearly the entire population of around 10 million people. The incident has intensified concerns over the reliability of the country’s aging power system.

Officials said emergency measures were quickly implemented to restore essential services. Authorities established localized “microsystems” to supply electricity to critical sectors such as hospitals, water distribution networks, and food supply chains. Power generation units in areas like Varadero and Boca de Jaruco were also activated to support gradual recovery.

In the capital Havana, residents faced another night without electricity, gathering outside their homes in the early morning hours as they coped with the outage. The repeated blackouts have disrupted daily life and added pressure on households already dealing with economic hardship.

Cuban officials have pointed to longstanding structural issues, including deteriorating infrastructure and fuel shortages, while also blaming external pressures such as U.S. sanctions for exacerbating the crisis. Analysts note that the combination of limited resources and rising demand has made the system increasingly vulnerable to breakdowns.

As restoration efforts continue, the situation underscores the urgent need for modernization of Cuba’s energy network and more stable fuel supplies to prevent recurring outages in the future.