Cuba slowly gets power back after latest blackout

Cubans were gradually getting power back on Wednesday, after the third nationwide power outage in less than 10 days, the national electricity company said.

The communist island was already struggling to keep the lights on before U.S. President Donald Trump cut off its oil supplies in January, depleting the dwindling supply of fuel for its power plants.

The national power grid went offline at about 11:05 a.m. (1505 GMT) on Tuesday, according to the state-run UNE electricity company, leaving the country's 9.6 million inhabitants without power.

Cubans began getting power back late Tuesday, but at around 4:00 a.m. (0800 GMT) on Wednesday, only 24 percent of households in Havana had electricity, according to UNE.

"Restoration is being carried out gradually, as permitted by the National Electric System," UNE said on Telegram.

The blackout was caused by a problem with a generating unit at a thermoelectric plant, which caused a "sudden frequency change," UNE said.

It was the third complete blackout on the Caribbean island since early July and the fifth since the start of 2026.

In both of last week's blackouts, it took more than 24 hours to restore power across the island of 9.6 million people, a process made slower and more complex by fuel shortages.

Power outages in the capital, Havana, totalled more than 30 hours at a time, while in the outlying provinces, it was several days before electricity was restored.

Residents in the worst-affected areas have vented their frustrations by setting piles of trash on fire or banging on pots and pans.

AFP