Cuba experienced another massive power outage on Friday night, plunging millions of people in the capital, Havana, and across the country’s provinces into darkness. The outage was caused by a failure at the Diezmero substation, located on the outskirts of Havana, which resulted in a significant loss of power generation in western Cuba and disrupted the National Electric System.
Cuba’s Ministry of Energy and Mines confirmed the issue, stating, “At around 8:15 p.m. local time, an outage at the Diezmero substation… caused a significant loss of generation in western Cuba and, with it, the failure of the National Electric System.” The ministry added, “We are working on the recovery process.”
The streets of Havana were eerily dark, with the only light emanating from hotel windows powered by generators. Internet services were also affected across the island. Residents in provinces such as Guantánamo, Artemisa, Santiago de Cuba, and Santa Clara also reported blackouts, with sporadic flickers of light.
Earlier, the Electric Union, the state agency overseeing the sector, indicated that peak-hour demand would reach 3,250 megawatts, while the deficit would amount to 1,380 megawatts, resulting in 42% of the national energy system being offline. While this was a major disruption, it wasn’t the worst in recent memory. Last year, Cuba experienced three widespread outages that left much of the island in the dark, further exacerbating the ongoing economic crisis.
The country’s power grid has struggled with frequent outages, affecting more than half of Cuba during peak hours. These disruptions are primarily caused by fuel shortages and outdated infrastructure, with electricity being essential for daily activities such as cooking and water pumping.
In response to the recurring outages, Cuban authorities have launched a program to install photovoltaic parks, with plans to have several up and running by the end of this year. However, blackouts have led to public dissatisfaction, with protests against the government occurring in 2021, 2022, and 2024.
