Havana — On March 21 Cuba’s national power grid collapsed again, leaving more than 10 million people without electricity in the second nationwide blackout in less than a week and the third such collapse this month. The Ministry of Energy and Mines posted on X that ‘a total disconnection of the National Electric System has occurred’ and said teams were carrying out protocols to restore service. The outage comes amid a rolling energy crisis that has stretched for more than two years, driven by chronic fuel shortages, aging plants, and insufficient maintenance. Cuban officials have blamed tighter U.S. sanctions and what they describe as a targeted oil blockade that reduced traditional fuel shipments. Earlier this month the shutdown of the Nuevitas thermoelectric plant in Camagüey triggered a cascading failure of the national grid, highlighting vulnerabilities in the system. Authorities have sought to establish localized power ‘islands’ to keep critical services such as hospitals and water systems operating, but instability has continued and full restoration has been slow. President Miguel Díaz-Canel acknowledged that significant oil deliveries have not arrived for months and said domestic fuel production covers only part of the country’s needs. Repeated blackouts have disrupted businesses, health services and food preservation, increasing public frustration as residents adapt to frequent outages and uncertainty. Restoration crews remain at work to repair and stabilize the system, but officials have not provided a firm timetable for nationwide service to be fully reinstated. This report was sourced from a syndicated feed and published as received; the Tribune assumes no responsibility for its accuracy or completeness.
