The Electric Union (UNE) announced this Tuesday the restoration of the National Electroenergetic System (SEN), after Cuba experienced two total collapses in less than 48 hours that left millions of Cubans without electricity for days.
At 11:35 in the morning, the state-owned company published on its social media: “The National Electroenergetic System has been restored and Unit 8 of the Máximo Gómez Thermal Power Plant is online”. Minutes earlier, at 10:55, the Antonio Guiteras thermal power plant — the largest in the country — had also been reconnected to the system.
The recovery was gradual and uneven. In the early hours of the morning, the UNE reported that the system was already interconnected from Pinar del Río to Holguín, while work continued to incorporate Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, and Granma. At 08:22, Unit 6 of the Diez de Octubre Thermal Power Plant came online.
The origin of the crisis dates back to Sunday, August 2, when a total disconnection of the SEN —the sixth collapse of the year— struck the island at 10:43 PM. On Monday, technicians managed a partial recovery that was thwarted in the afternoon when a frequency oscillation caused another total drop. The UNE attributed this second collapse to "existing weather events that caused damage to the grid, directly impacting the generating units that were online."
In the worst moment of the recovery, Havana operated with only 14% of its supply: 87,480 customers, 78.51 MW, 12 substations, and 29 energized circuits, prioritizing 19 hospitals and two water pumps.
The crisis also impacted telecommunications: ETECSA reported faults in its generator with interruptions in numbers with prefixes 52, 509, 598, and 599.
The testimonies of citizens reflect the drama experienced: 72 hours without electricity in Bauta (Artemisa), 66 hours in Güines (Mayabeque), almost 72 hours in Cifuentes (Villa Clara), and more than 48 hours in Minas (Camagüey). A resident of Consolación del Sur summarized the situation: "We have gone three days without power; the situation is very difficult for children and sick people."
With the two collapses in August, Cuba has experienced at least seven total blackouts of the National Electric System in 2026, according to the history of system collapses: two in March, three in July, and two in August. The crisis is due to structural causes that the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, has acknowledged before the National Assembly: obsolescence of the thermoelectric fleet, chronic fuel shortages, lack of spare parts, and accumulated infrastructure deterioration over decades. The Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, with a nominal capacity of 250 MW, has not received major maintenance since 2010 and has recorded at least 17 unscheduled outages so far this year.
After the second drop on Monday, Minister De la O Levy simply stated: "We continue forward with great effort and commitment."
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