cuba news: Historic Power Grid Collapse Plunges Entire Nation into Darkness for 72 Hours
HAVANA, CUBA — A cascading failure of the nation’s antiquated electrical grid has left the entire island of Cuba without power for a record 72 consecutive hours, marking the most severe blackout in the country’s modern history. According to officials from the state-run Electric Union, the crisis began at approximately 2:15 p.m. local time on Tuesday when the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, the nation’s largest power station, suffered an unscheduled shutdown due to critical equipment failure. This triggered a domino effect, disconnecting all major power plants and transmission lines from the national grid.
Where: The outage has affected every province, from Pinar del Río to Guantánamo, with rural clinics, water pumping stations, and essential communication networks losing functionality. Emergency generators at key hospitals are running on limited fuel reserves.
When: The initial failure occurred at 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday, with full restoration not expected until late Friday, as engineers scramble to restart synchronized systems.
Who: Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has addressed the nation via state television, declaring a state of emergency and deploying military engineering units to facilitate repairs. International aid, including technical support from Mexico and Venezuela, has been accepted.
Why: Analysts point to chronic underinvestment in maintenance, a shortage of imported fuel due to tightened U.S. sanctions, and the aging infrastructure of a Soviet-era system that has not been modernized in over three decades.
How: Restoration efforts are proceeding in phases, prioritizing hospitals and water supply systems. The government has imposed a curfew in Havana to prevent looting, though reports of candle-related fires and food spoilage are widespread as citizens rely on black market propane tanks and manual power from car batteries. The social media platform X is flooded with unofficial updates, as the #CubaSinLuz hashtag trends globally, drawing