Cuba remained largely without power on Saturday morning after the island´s grid collapsed the night before, knocking out electricity for 10 million people and raising fresh questions about the viability of its antiquated generating system.
At sunrise, the island's grid operator UNE said it was generating only a trickle of electricity - around 225 MW, or less than 10% of total demand, enough to cover some vital services like hospitals, water supply and food production centers.
Officials said they had begun the process of firing up the country's decades-old generation plants, but gave no timeline for restoring service.
Cuba´s grid failed Friday evening around 8:15 p.m. (0015 GMT) after an aging component of a transmission line at a substation in Havana shorted, beginning a chain reaction that completely shut down power generation across the island, UNE officials said.
The grid collapse follows a string of nationwide blackouts late last year that plunged Cuba's frail power generating system into near-total disarray, stressed by fuel shortages, natural disaster and economic crisis.
Most Cubans outside the capital Havana have already been living for months with rolling blackouts that peaked at 20 hours a day in recent weeks.
Havana was still largely without electricity on Saturday morning. Light traffic navigated intersections with no functioning stoplights and cellular internet was weak or non-existent in some areas.
Abel Bonne chatted with friends on Havana's Malecon waterfront boulevard early Saturday, taking in the fresh sea breeze after a stuffy night without power.
"Right now, no one knows when the power will come back on," he said. "This is the first time this had happened this year, but last year it happened three times."
Severe shortages of food, medicine and water have made life increasingly unbearable for many Cubans, and people have been fleeing the island in recent years in record-breaking numbers.
Cuba blames its economic woes on a Cold War-era U.S. trade embargo, a web of laws and regulations that complicate financial transactions and the acquisition of essentials like fuel and spare parts.
A grid official on Saturday morning said Cuba had been unable to update antiquated transmission and generation components because of the restrictions.
U.S. President Donald Trump recently tightened sanctions on the island's communist-run government, vowing to restore a "tough" policy toward the long-time U.S. foe.
Havana resident Yunior Reyes, a bike taxi driver, was back on the job Saturday morning despite the blackout, fretting that his food reserves might spoil in the day's heat.
“We're all in the same situation," he said. "It's a lot of work."
The US has imposed sanctions on four Cuban judicial officials for their role in jailing a peaceful protester in 2020, citing gross human rights violations and lack of judicial independence.
Power is gradually being restored in parts of Havana after a nationwide blackout left millions without electricity. The outage, caused by a grid collapse on Friday evening, affected around 10 million people, with some areas seeing progress while large portions of Cuba remain in the dark.
Cuba’s power grid has collapsed, causing a nationwide blackout and internet disruptions.
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Widespread blackouts lasting more than 20 hours a day are crippling Cuba, as fuel shortages and outdated infrastructure disrupt the country’s energy supply.
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U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent said on Sunday that he expects President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to speak soon in an effort to resolve a growing dispute over critical minerals.
As Germany considers providing long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine, military experts warn the move could enable Kyiv to strike targets deep inside Russian territory, including Moscow — a shift that could escalate tensions and draw NATO closer to direct confrontation.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent said on Sunday that he expects President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to speak soon in an effort to resolve a growing dispute over critical minerals.
As Germany considers providing long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine, military experts warn the move could enable Kyiv to strike targets deep inside Russian territory, including Moscow — a shift that could escalate tensions and draw NATO closer to direct confrontation.
Ukraine has carried out one of its largest drone strikes of the war, reportedly hitting more than 40 Russian military aircraft at multiple air bases, a Ukrainian security official told Reuters on Sunday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Ukraine will attend a meeting in Istanbul on Monday, following a proposal from Russia.
Flash floods in central Nigeria have killed at least 151 people, with authorities warning the toll may rise further as search and rescue operations continue in the flood-ravaged town of Mokwa, Niger State.
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