Cuba's Blackout Crisis
Cuba Endures Second Nationwide Blackout as US Blockade Fuels Energy Crisis
Anonymous
Key Points
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Generation capacity is far below peak demand: the National Electric System (SEN) runs about 935 MW at peak, while demand reaches roughly 3,100 MW, creating a shortfall of more than 2,100 MW and leaving 890 MW unavailable due to offline capacity.
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The Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Plant has not received capital maintenance since it began operation in 1988 and has been offline 17 times in 2026 alone, highlighting aging infrastructure as a core vulnerability.
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Fuel constraints are stark: only one Russian oil tanker has reportedly arrived since January, intensifying shortages for Cuba’s Soviet-era plants amid the broader blockade.
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UNE publicly announced the latest outage: at 4:30 PM local time, the National Electric System has 'completely collapsed,' marking another total blackout in a widening crisis.
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The energy squeeze is tied to broader U.S. actions toward Cuba and its regional allies, including moves against Venezuela's Maduro and cuts to oil shipments, which Cuban authorities say constrain fuel for aging power plants.
Cuba's national power grid collapsed for the second time in five days on Tuesday afternoon, plunging the entire island into darkness. The state electric utility UNE announced at 4:30 p.m. local time that the National Electric System had 'completely collapsed,' marking the fourth total blackout of 2026 and the ninth since late 2024, according to Wellington Times.
Cuban authorities blame a six-month U.S. fuel blockade imposed under President Donald Trump for gutting the island's ability to keep its aging power plants running. Only one Russian oil tanker has reportedly arrived since January. Millions of Cubans are now coping with no electricity, scarce food, limited medicine, and disrupted water supply.
A Grid Running on Empty for Decades
Cuba's power crisis is not just a fuel problem — it is an infrastructure collapse decades in the making. The country's National Electric System can generate only about 935 MW at peak, according to Inverell Times. But peak demand reaches roughly 3,100 MW. That gap of more than 2,100 MW means rolling blackouts are not an exception. They are the norm.
The Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Plant is the sharpest symbol of that decay. It has not received major maintenance since it opened in 1988. In 2026 alone, it has gone offline 17 times. Officials recently said the plant was being prepared to rejoin the grid during evening peak hours — a claim met with widespread public skepticism, according to Inner East Review.
U.S. Fuel Blockade Cuts Off Cuba's Lifeline
The Trump administration tightened sanctions on Cuba's fuel supply as part of broader pressure on the island and its regional allies. Washington also moved against Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro, cutting oil shipments that Cuba had long depended on. The result: Cuban power plants — built for Soviet-era heavy fuel — are running on near-empty reserves, according to Standard.
Only one Russian oil tanker has reportedly docked in Cuba since January. That single delivery has done little to close a massive fuel gap. Cuban officials say the blockade is a deliberate effort to strangle the country's energy supply. The U.S. government frames the sanctions as pressure on an authoritarian government, Wellington Times reported.
Second Blackout This Week Hits Everyday Life Hard
UNE made no attempt to soften the announcement. The grid had 'completely collapsed,' the agency said at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. It was the second full island-wide outage in just five days. When the lights go out in Cuba, the consequences go far beyond inconvenience. Water pumps stop. Refrigerated medicine spoils. Food supply chains break down, Southern Highland News reported.
The outages also expose a gap of 890 MW tied to capacity that exists on paper but cannot be brought online — broken or fuel-starved units that sit idle. Cuba has begun shifting toward solar power and other alternative fuels. But those projects are years from replacing what the old Soviet-built plants once provided, according to Inverell Times.
Cuba Shifts Toward Solar as Crisis Deepens
Facing a grid it cannot fix quickly, Cuba's government is pushing solar investment as a long-term exit from fossil fuel dependence. Officials describe the shift as both a survival strategy and a path away from U.S. leverage over oil imports. But the transition is slow. Right now, solar cannot fill the gap left by broken thermoelectric plants, according to Inner East Review.
For most Cubans, that future is cold comfort. Blackouts that once lasted hours now stretch through the night. The crisis has worsened a broader shortage of food and medicine. Experts say decades of underinvestment — not just U.S. sanctions — left the grid too fragile to survive even modest fuel cuts, Standard reported.
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