Cuba’s Electric Union confirmed that an islandwide blackout hit the country on Friday, shortly after a similar large outage on Monday. The government said the immediate cause was a “fluctuation in the parameters” after a line failure linking the provinces of Santa Clara and Sancti Spíritus. Authorities reported they had started restoring power in some areas.
The article links the repeated blackouts to a broader energy and infrastructure crisis: aging power plants (many over 30 years old), limited maintenance, and serious fuel shortages needed to run generators. Prime Minister Manuel Marrero described the week as extremely difficult, citing two disconnections of the national electric system, almost no fuel for power plants, and multiple units out of service.
It also says blackouts have become increasingly common in 2026, describing Friday’s collapse as the fourth national power-system failure so far this year, following earlier outages in mid-May and mid-March. The report notes that since January, fuel has been running low, with the U.S. tightening pressure after threatening tariffs on countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba—while Cuba produces only about 40% of its needed fuel. The government has also been rationing power with intentional outages that can last more than 24 hours, and officials have canceled large numbers of surgeries as medical and transport services are disrupted.
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