Blackouts surge in Havana: Eight-hour cuts during the day and throughout the night

The Electric Company of Havana has published a new blackout schedule that confirms the worsening of the energy crisis in the Cuban capital.

According to the official schedule shared on social media, power outages will now last for eight hours a day, including periods in the early morning, severely impacting the daily lives of Havana residents.

A comparative review with the programs from the previous week shows a significant setback: previously, service interruptions did not exceed four hours per block and, in theory, ended right at midnight.

Furthermore, each area was only affected once a day.

However, starting from Sunday, June 29, the power cuts will cover all hours of the day and night, distributed across different time slots that total eight hours without electricity for each area.

This strategy shift occurs just days after the company denied on social media the rumors about an increase in blackouts and an imbalance in the distribution among blocks.

In a statement, the state agency asserted that the impacts were being carried out equitably and that any contrary information was "completely false."

However, the new schedules released confirm that the disruptions have increased both in duration and frequency.

On Friday, the company had to acknowledge that the lack of available generation makes it unfeasible to adhere to the blackout schedules, and warned about the need to make adjustments to the timings.

"The interruptions should last an average of four hours, but after midnight, emergency disruptions could extend for up to an additional hour," he specified.

The situation has gradually worsened in recent months.

In May, the entity justified the nighttime blackouts in the city as part of an emergency measure to "balance the impacts due to generation deficits," also warning that cuts of up to one hour would occur during the early morning in circuits that had not been affected during the day.

In practice, Havana residents report power outages lasting over eight hours, which disrupt essential activities such as food preservation, water pumping, studying, and medical care. The situation is particularly delicate in households with young children, elderly individuals, or bedridden patients.

Although Havana has historically received preferential treatment compared to other provinces—where outages can last more than 20 consecutive hours—the duration of blackouts in the capital has raised new alarms.

In the rest of the country, where many towns have received only three or four hours of electricity service per day, resentment is growing over the centralized management of energy and the perception of favoritism towards the capital.

The deep energy crisis facing Cuba, characterized by the deterioration of thermoelectric plants, fuel shortages, and weak generation capacity, has forced the authorities to implement contingency solutions that do not address the root of the problem.

Meanwhile, citizen frustration is growing in light of a situation that seems to have no short-term resolution.

In this context, the Electric Company of Havana reiterated its appeal to the public to seek information only from "official channels" and to avoid spreading content it deems "false or manipulative."

However, prolonged outages and the contradiction between institutional statements and the daily reality experienced by citizens have further undermined the credibility of the electricity authorities.

Energy remains one of the most critical points of the structural collapse the country is experiencing, and power outages, far from easing, deepen every day.

Frequently Asked Questions About Blackouts in Havana