The Cuban regime has canceled the scheduled time change for next Saturday and announced that daylight saving time will be maintained without interruption until November 7, 2027, according to a joint informational note from the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MINEM) and the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTSS).
The decision breaks the annual cycle with which Cuba alternates between standard time (UTC-5) and daylight saving time (UTC-4), and it means that clocks will remain one hour ahead throughout the winter of 2026-2027, something that was not planned in the usual calendar.
The official statement attributes the measure to the electrical crisis currently affecting the island, although it avoids holding the regime accountable and instead blames the U.S. embargo for the "shortage of fuels for electricity generation."
According to MINEM and MTSS, keeping the clock advanced will prevent an increase in outages of 126 MW during the peak evening demand period: 76 MW from savings in artificial lighting and 50 MW from the utilization of solar photovoltaic generation during that time frame.
The logic behind the measure is that by maintaining daylight saving time during the winter, the official afternoon aligns with more hours of sunlight, allowing photovoltaic panels to generate energy precisely when demand peaks.
However, the side effect is that dawn will come later according to official time during the colder months, which will impact the morning activities of millions of Cubans.
To compensate for this, the government decided to delay the entry to schools and workplaces by 30 minutes from November 1, 2026, to March 14, 2027, a period during which the standard time would normally have been in effect.
Entity heads must adjust schedules in accordance with the labor union, backed by Article 223.2 of Law 189, the new Labor Code of July 30, 2026, "without it affecting the wages of the workers," according to the statement.
Entities that operate continuously will also be able to adjust their entry and exit shifts according to the characteristics of each activity.
The measure comes at one of the most critical moments for the Cuban electrical system: this Saturday, the Electric Union forecasted a capacity of only 915 MW against a demand of 2,850 MW, with an estimated maximum shortfall of 1,865 MW.
The next regular time change in Cuba will take place on November 7, 2027, when the clocks will need to be set back to return to standard time.
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