Havana, March 4 - Most of Cuba experienced a widespread power outage on Wednesday after an unanticipated failure at the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, the state electric utility Union Electrica (UNE) reported. The disruption knocked out electricity across a wide swath of the island, stretching from Pinar del Rio in the west to Camaguey in the central-east.
UNE attributed the blackout to the sudden loss of generation at the Guiteras plant, located roughly 100 km (62 miles) east of Havana. In eastern Las Tunas province, substations malfunctioned, leaving only the far eastern provinces with power, a company official told state television.
Regional reporting cited Roman Perez, the plant's technical director, saying repairs at the Guiteras station could require three to four days. Perez was quoted explaining that the immediate priority was to cut water consumption by addressing a malfunction in the boiler's superheater and repairing other leaks.
"The main objective is to reduce water consumption by eliminating the malfunction in the boiler’s superheater and other existing leaks," Giron quoted Perez as saying.
Cuba has faced repeated major blackouts in recent years. The government and officials have linked the current strain to tightened oil shipments amid actions by the Trump administration that have curtailed supplies, particularly from Venezuela, once a top supplier. The country has also attributed its broader economic difficulties to decades of U.S. economic sanctions, which officials say have contributed to underinvestment in power generation and the electric grid.
The outage arrived against a backdrop of fuel scarcity that has prompted the government to ration essential services such as trash collection and transportation. In response to soaring fuel costs and intermittent supply, some residents have installed solar panels on homes and vehicles to maintain electricity and keep businesses or equipment running.
In Havana many residents, used to periodic power rationing, largely absorbed the blackout without panic. A number of traffic lights and commercial operations continued to function where solar panels or backup generators were available.
"The SEN (electrical grid) going dark should not be considered normal," said Arian Mendoza, 28, an engineer living in Havana. "I don’t think it’s right."
The interruption also briefly took Cuban state television off the air. The national 1 p.m. news bulletin began more than 30 minutes late, with a presenter explaining the delay was caused by the blackout. "We can’t communicate, we don’t know what’s on the news because we can’t turn on the TV," said Angeli Aviles, 18, a student in Havana.
Authorities said the Felton 1 thermoelectric power plant in Holguin province in the east remained online, according to the energy ministry. That facility continued to supply electricity even as much of the island was without power.
The tightening of fuel supplies has had international dimensions. Mexico, which had been an alternate supplier of oil to Venezuela, announced it would halt deliveries after the United States threatened tariffs on countries supplying Cuba with oil.
Key points
- Power failure at the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant caused a nationwide blackout affecting provinces from Pinar del Rio to Camaguey.
- Repairs at the Guiteras station are expected to take three to four days while authorities work to fix boiler superheater issues and leaks.
- Fuel supply constraints and government rationing have driven some residents to adopt solar panels; the Felton 1 plant in Holguin remained operational.
Risks and uncertainties
- Duration of the outage - repair time at the Guiteras plant could extend up to several days, prolonging service disruptions for households and businesses.
- Fuel supply instability - continued curbs on oil shipments may sustain rationing of services such as transportation and waste collection, affecting logistics and consumption patterns.
- Grid vulnerabilities - substations malfunctioned in Las Tunas, indicating broader reliability issues that could affect the energy sector and dependent industries.
The blackout underscores the fragility of Cuba's power system amid constrained fuel flows and longstanding investment shortfalls, while highlighting how households and some services are adapting through backup generation and solar installations. Officials are focused on technical fixes at the Guiteras plant in the immediate term, but the episode adds to a string of major outages that have periodically interrupted daily life across the island.