Slow restoration of Cuba power grid after latest blackout

HAVANA: Cuba worked to revive its electrical grid Saturday after a second nationwide blackout in less than a week, with repairs hampered by a fuel shortage caused by a US blockade, authorities said.

Cuba is reeling from its worst economic crisis in decades — one made worse by the fuel blockade imposed by US President Donald Trump in January as part of a pressure campaign aimed at ending six decades of communist rule.

About 12 percent of households in Havana, a city of 1.7 million, had power as of Saturday night, up from seven percent at midday, according to the state UNE electricity utility.

“Restoration is proceeding gradually, as conditions allow,” it said on X.

It was the fourth nationwide blackout in less than six months and the ninth since late 2024 for the island nation which has a population of 9.6 million.

The grid failed Friday afternoon, two days after authorities reconnected the system following a nationwide outage on Monday.

Cuban residents vented their frustration at the power situation.

“What can I do? I can’t do anything, just adapt to continue living in this country unfortunately, that’s it, I can’t do anything else,” Eneyda Gomez, a 71-year-old retiree, told AFP.

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“We’re already living under an almost unbearable amount of stress…the population can’t take any more,” said Pedro Martinez, 63, who added he sees no “solutions in the medium or short term.”

President Miguel Diaz-Canel said in a social media post on Saturday the situation was “very complex due to the genocidal oil blockade” imposed by Washington.

Washington authorized in January the arrival of only one Russian tanker — carrying 100,000 tons of crude — which came in March. Those reserves have since been exhausted.

Cuba’s electrical grid suffers from frequent total or partial blackouts due to aging infrastructure and fuel shortages.

The utility company said the fuel shortage also complicates restoration work, as it prevents the use of backup generators powered by imported diesel.