Cuba's Power Grid Collapses for Third Time in March

Cuba's power grid collapsed on Saturday, leaving the entire island without electricity for the third time in March. The state-owned National Electric Union attributed the total blackout to an unexpected failure of a generating unit at the Nuevitas thermoelectric plant in Camaguey province.

Authorities activated 'micro-islands' of generating units to provide power to vital centers, hospitals, and water systems while working to restore electricity more widely. This is the latest in a series of outages that have become increasingly common over the past two years due to breakdowns in Cuba's aging infrastructure.

Daily blackouts lasting up to 15 hours are compounded by fuel shortages, which further destabilize the system. The power crisis has significantly disrupted daily life for Cubans, with reduced work hours, difficulties cooking without electricity, food spoilage due to non-functional refrigerators, and hospitals canceling surgical operations.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel stated that Cuba has not received oil from foreign suppliers for three months and produces only 40% of the fuel needed to power its economy. The Cuban government attributes the outages partly to a U.S. energy blockade imposed after President Donald Trump warned of tariffs on any country selling or providing oil to Cuba.

The blackout is the second nationwide outage in less than a week and the fourth major blackout in Cuba over the past four months. Protests have been reported across the island as frustration grows over prolonged blackouts and worsening living conditions, according to CBS News Miami.