Millions of Cubans remained without electricity for a third consecutive day on Sunday after new attempts to restore power overnight failed.
The Cuban Electrical Union reported that approximately 16% of the country had regained power when the aging energy grid overloaded again late Saturday. Officials did not offer any updates on when full service would be restored.
This marks the third complete collapse of Cuba’s energy grid since Friday, leaving most of the island’s 10 million residents without reliable access to electricity during this period.
Efforts to restore power are expected to face additional challenges with the impending arrival of Hurricane Oscar in eastern Cuba, which forecasters predict will bring strong winds and heavy surf.
Hurricane Oscar made its first landfall on Inagua Island in The Bahamas, with maximum sustained winds estimated at 80 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 5 a.m. EDT update on Sunday.
The hurricane is forecast to reach Cuba’s northeastern coast later this afternoon. “Weakening is expected after landfall, but Oscar could still be a tropical storm when it moves north of Cuba late Monday and across the central Bahamas by Tuesday,” the NHC stated.
Cuba experienced its first island-wide blackout on Friday, when one of the country’s major power plants failed, according to the energy ministry.
Despite officials announcing that power was being gradually restored, the country suffered a second nationwide blackout on Saturday morning.
These blackouts are deepening the crisis in the communist-run nation, as essential services like water supply and food preservation rely on consistent electricity.
Hurricane in Cuba (Photo: Alexandre Meneghini)
Some residents began using WhatsApp to share updates on which areas had power, while others coordinated to store medications in the refrigerators of those who briefly had power or access to a generator.
In Havana, people stood in long lines for hours to buy bread from the few locations still selling it. When supplies ran out, tensions escalated, with several people angrily accusing others of cutting in line.
Many residents questioned the absence of support from Cuba’s traditional allies, such as Venezuela, Russia, and Mexico, who had previously provided the island with critical oil supplies to keep the power grid functioning.
Meanwhile, tourists continued to drive around Havana’s main avenues in classic 1950s cars, even though many hotels had exhausted their generator fuel supplies.
One foreign visitor told that Havana’s José Martí International Airport was running on emergency power, with no functioning printers for issuing tickets and no air conditioning inside the terminal.
Two small protests overnight were observed into Sunday, and videos of other demonstrations in the capital also emerged.
Cuban officials have attributed the energy crisis to a combination of factors, including increased U.S. economic sanctions, damage caused by recent hurricanes, and the deteriorating state of the island’s infrastructure.
In a televised address on Thursday, which was delayed due to technical issues, Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz acknowledged that much of the country’s limited production had been halted in an effort to prevent widespread power outages for the population.
“We have been pausing economic activity to generate power for the people,” Marrero said.
On Friday, Health Minister José Angel Portal Miranda reassured the public on X (formerly Twitter) that healthcare facilities were operating on generators and that medical staff were continuing to provide essential services.
