Cuba was plunged into darkness once again this Sunday when the Electric Union (UNE) confirmed, at 10:43 PM, a new total disconnection of the National Electric System. The official statement was as brief as usual: "A total disconnection of the National Electric System is occurring. We will continue to provide updates."
This is the sixth total blackout of the National Electric System in 2026, a frequency that has made these collapses almost routine for the Cuban population.
The collapse occurred just one day after a partial disconnection in the western part of the country—from Pinar del Río to Matanzas—left around 4.5 million Cubans without electricity across seven provinces, caused by a simultaneous trigger in the 220 kV lines of Matanzas-Cienfuegos and Matanzas-Santa Clara.
After the partial reconnection of the west, the UNE was already forecasting a shortfall of 2,195 MW this Sunday, with only 1,035 MW available against a demand of 3,200 MW, making another collapse virtually inevitable.
The reaction of Cubans in the comments on UNE's Facebook post was immediate and filled with sarcasm. "He came in, said hello, and went back to sleep," wrote Nuri Benítez. Sofía Del Toro Domgz was more direct: "The question is, when is he connected?"
Becky Pereira Infante resorted to a medical comparison: "The SEN is worse than a person with Alzheimer's; it doesn't know if it's coming in or going out of the kitchen." Yoa Pzm added: "The SEN sits down, stands up, and acts like a little donkey. It's about to break its own record."
Barber Pineda blended political irony with a reference to the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric power plant, the largest in the country and a key component of the system: "Utopia collided with Guiteras and lost its bearings on the horizon."
Gladys V. Fernández's comment nearly touched upon an open critique of the regime: "What needs to fall doesn't fall. Well, of course, we as a people have to bring it down."
Meanwhile, several users reported situations that illustrate the extent of the accumulated collapse. Maydelin Redondo wrote: "That's nothing new; they just restored power to me after almost 24 hours. What a lack of consideration." Evelyn Cabrera captured the absurdity in a single phrase: "I haven't had power since yesterday when they turned it on for three hours, so I'm completely out of the loop." Rauli Velázquez summed it all up in one word: "Apagolandia."
The deterioration had been building up throughout the week. On July 29, the UNE projected a historic record deficit of 2,380 MW, with only 850 MW available against a demand of 3,200 MW. By July 31, the impact had already reached 2,042 MW.
The history of total outages in 2026 includes the blackout on March 16 —the longest, lasting 29 hours and 29 minutes—, on March 22, the July 6 when nearly 9.6 million people were left without electricity, July 10, and the July 14, attributed to the unexpected shutdown of Unit 1 in Felton, Holguín.
Behind every collapse, there are structural causes that the regime has not addressed in decades: thermoelectric plants that have been in operation for over 30 years—many of Soviet technology—insufficient maintenance, chronic fuel shortages, and a complete dependence on imports of fuel oil and diesel that the system itself cannot guarantee.
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