Cuba Reels as Second Grid Collapse Hits Havana

Cuba's national power grid experienced its second major collapse in less than a week on Saturday evening, impacting millions of people. The outage occurred after a key power plant in Nuevitas went offline, causing a nationwide cascade failure.

By Sunday afternoon, officials reported that power had been restored to nearly half of the capital, Havana, affecting approximately 500,000 homes and businesses, including 43 hospitals. Efforts were underway to bring the country's largest oil-fired power plant back into operation.

Life in Havana continues with frequent blackouts, which are a regular occurrence even when the grid is operational. Many residents rely on firewood for cooking due to persistent power issues.

Outlying provinces also saw gradual power restoration. However, a significant shortage of diesel fuel limits generation capacity, meaning extended blackouts are expected to persist in many areas.

The island's electrical grid has been unstable for months, with daily blackouts becoming the norm. Saturday's failure marks the third major outage this month.

Cuba attributes its energy infrastructure problems to the US trade embargo and oil blockade, which began after the US took measures against Venezuelan oil exports. The US, however, points to Cuba's economic system for the shortfalls.