Ernesto Mastrascusa/EPA
Blackout in Cuba
About 3.5 million people without electricity in western Cuba, including in the capital Havana. There are blackouts that last for days.
One blackout of large proportions left this Wednesday around 3.5 million people without electricity not west of Cuba, including in the capital Havana.
The failure occurred in the National Electric System (SEN) and affected the provinces of Pinar del Río, Artemisa, Mayabeque and Havana, the most populous in the country. It affected more than a third of Cuba’s population.
The general director of Electricity at the Ministry of Energy and Mines (Minem), Lázaro Guerra, explained on state television that the interruption was caused by a transmission line failure between the thermo-eletric centers of Ché Guevara (Santa Cross of the North) and Antonio Guitors (Slaughters).
The failure caused an overload on another line and divided the system, leaving the entire western region without power, leading to the shutdown of the Santa Cruz and Mariel plants.
Two other plants, Felton (Holguín) and Céspedes (Cienfuegos), were also disconnected, although they are already in the process of restarting, said Guerra.
In total, energy production was paralyzed in four of the island’s seven thermoelectric plants, but the remaining ones — Guiteras, Renté and 10 de Octubre — remained operational.
The Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, stated that recovery protocols were being implemented and that supply was being resumed, although Havana only has 44 megawatts connected to the SEN, an insufficient value for the capital.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said on social media that technical teams are working “tirelessly” and attributed the failure to Hurricane Melissa, which hit the east of the island a month ago.
On Wednesday night, the electricity was on return gradually, especially in Havana.
Cuba faces a deep energy crisis since 2014marked by frequent breakdowns in obsolete plants, lack of currency to purchase fuel and a drop in supply from allies such as Russia, Venezuela and Mexico.
The crisis has a severe impact on economy, who contracted 11% in the last five years and is expected to end the year in negative territory, in addition to fueling social discontent in a country immersed in a serious structural crisis.
With around 10 million inhabitants, Cuba suffered five general blackouts since the end of 2024 – and some of them last several days. Residents face daily cuts, sometimes higher than 20 hours followed.
