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Cuba faces its fourth general blackout in less than six months, as various international media have reported this Saturday, highlighting the collapsed electrical infrastructure of the country.
A failure at a substation on the outskirts of Havana caused a total disconnection of the National Electric System (SEN), leaving much of the country in darkness. Despite the efforts of the Electric Union (UNE) to restore service through "microsystems," demand continues to far exceed the available generation.
According to official data, currently only 110 megawatts (MW) are being generated, a minimal amount compared to the daytime demand, which can reach 1,800 MW, and the nighttime demand, which exceeds 3,200 MW.
In an effort to mitigate the crisis, the government has established microsystems in 12 of the 15 provinces of the country, but the complete restoration of the SEN remains uncertain. In the days leading up to the collapse, authorities announced the suspension of work and educational activities throughout the island due to the frequency and magnitude of power outages.
This Friday, the UNE warned that the recovery will take several hours, although the history of recent massive blackouts indicates that the process could extend over days.
Among the international media closely monitoring this critical situation in Cuba, the Spanish network RTVE reported that the majority of the island remains without electricity following a new nationwide blackout.
He also emphasized that this is the fourth incident of its kind in less than six months, attributing the energy crisis to chronic underfunding of the sector, which is entirely under state control.
For its part, France 24 reported that on the night of Friday, March 14, Cuba experienced another nationwide blackout due to a malfunction in its national electricity system.
The news was also covered by El Heraldo de México, which noted that the event occurred around 8:15 PM and caused a significant loss of generation in the western part of Cuba, ultimately leading to the complete collapse of the National Electric System.
On its part, the Chilean portal T13 emphasized that the SEN has been in a very precarious situation for months, with constant breakdowns in its seven thermal power plants, a chronic investment deficit, and a shortage of fuels.
The Canal N of Peru also reported that the blackout was caused by a malfunction in the electrical system, affecting millions of people across the country.
Independent experts agree that the energy crisis in Cuba is a result of chronic underfunding of the electric sector, which has been entirely state-owned since 1959.
While the regime insists that U.S. sanctions have worsened the situation, studies indicate that the island would need between 8,000 and 10,000 million dollars to modernize its energy system, an investment that is beyond its reach.
The constant blackouts have worsened the Cuban economic crisis, which contracted by 1.9% in 2023 and failed to grow in 2024. Furthermore, these outages have sparked social protests in recent years.
In that regard, RTVE recalled the massive protests of July 2021 (11J), as well as the outbreaks that occurred in March 2024, when thousands of Cubans took to the streets of Santiago de Cuba and other locations to demand better living conditions and stable electricity service.
While Cubans remain in the dark, uncertainty persists regarding when the National Electric System (SEN) will stabilize and whether the country is destined to continue facing widespread blackouts in the near future. With a backdrop of resource scarcity and lack of investment, the energy crisis seems far from resolved, leaving the population in an increasingly critical situation.
The situation is increasingly being highlighted in international media, which emphasize the fragility of the Cuban electrical system, its reliance on outdated infrastructure, citizens' discontent, and the incapacity of its leaders to address a collapse that leaves millions of Cubans at risk of energy insecurity.
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