Cuba woke up this Tuesday engulfed in the energy chaos of the sixth total collapse of the National Electric System (SEN) so far in 2026.
On the morning of August 4th, the Electric Union (UNE) released their first updates on the progress of the reconnection on their social media.
The state-owned company reported that the system is already interconnected across a zone stretching from the western edge to the central-eastern region of the country.
“The system is now interconnected from Pinar del Río to Holguín. Work is ongoing to achieve the incorporation of the provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, and Granma,” the UNE stated succinctly.
The UNE reported that at 08:22 a.m. (local time), "Unit 6 of the CTE Diez de Octubre went online, increasing load."
However, the gap between official announcements and the reality faced by millions of Cubans is evident in the comments on those posts.
The Voice of Cubans: Between 40 and 72 Hours Without Power
The comments on the UNE's posts painted a picture of the disaster that the official data does not reveal.
“In Consolación del Sur, we have been without power for three days; the situation is very difficult for children and sick people,” wrote a citizen.
In Bauta, Artemisa, residents stated that they had been without electricity for 72 hours and described the situation as "shameful."
In Güines, Mayabeque, the blackout reached 66 hours and also brought along a lack of water.
In Cifuentes, Villa Clara, almost 72 hours; in the Tejas neighborhood, San Miguel del Padrón, 52 hours; in Minas, Camagüey, over 48 hours.
The perception of territorial inequality was another key factor of discontent.
"Guantánamo, as always, among the last to receive the service," wrote a user.
Another asked ironically, "Did they connect Pinar del Río to Holguín without passing through the other provinces?"
A phrase summarized the widespread skepticism: “The system is connected, but the electrons do not flow.”
The crisis is also affecting telecommunications: ETECSA reported failures in its generator impacting numbers with prefixes 52, 509, 598, and 599.
How did the sixth collapse occur?
The collapse occurred in two stages. On Sunday, August 2, at 10:43 PM, the UNE confirmed a total disconnection from the SEN, marking the sixth national blackout of the year.
The recovery had barely begun when a frequency oscillation brought the system down again this Monday, marking the sixth collapse of 2026.
At that moment, Havana had only restored 14% of its supply: 87,480 customers, 78.51 MW, 12 substations, and 29 energized circuits, prioritizing 19 hospitals and two water pumps.
The UNE attributed this second decline to climatic factors: "The existing weather events have caused disruptions in the grid, directly impacting the generating units that were online."
The Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, the largest in the country, located in Matanzas, had begun a cold start at 10:17 on Monday with hopes of synchronizing with the SEN by nightfall, but the new collapse thwarted those plans.
The plant has accumulated at least 17 unscheduled outages in 2026 and has not received capital maintenance since 2010.
Seven collapses in eight months
Cuba accumulated in 2026 seven total collapses of the SEN: two in March (16 and 21), three in July (6, 10, and 14), and two in August (3 and 4).
This chain of collapses occurs in a structurally deteriorated electrical system, with outdated plants, a chronic shortage of fuel, and a lack of investment in maintenance, a direct consequence of decades of mismanagement by the Cuban regime.
While the UNE works to incorporate the provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, and Granma into the SEN, millions of Cubans are awaiting with uncertainty when electricity will return to their homes.
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