# Cuba Experiences Third Nationwide Blackout in Six Months Due to Ongoing Fuel Crisis

*Cuba experienced its third nationwide power outage in six months, exacerbating an ongoing energy crisis.*

July 7, 2026 · World

## At a glance

- Cuba experienced its third nationwide power outage in six months.
- The outages are due to an ongoing fuel crisis exacerbated by US sanctions.
- The island has been imposing draconian power cuts to conserve fuel.
- Cuba's electricity generation system relies on ageing Soviet-era plants.
- The UN has warned of a humanitarian emergency due to shortages of food, water, and medicine.

Cuba on Monday suffered its third nationwide power outage since the start of the year, the state electricity company said. The impoverished island was already struggling to keep the lights on before US President Donald Trump in January imposed an oil blockade, which has depleted the already dwindling supply of fuel for Cuba's power plants.

## Nationwide Disconnection

"There has been a total disconnection from the national electricity generation system," the UNE power utility wrote on X, adding that it was "investigating the causes." This blackout is the eighth on the island of 9.6 million people since late 2024.

## Draconian Power Cuts

The blackout comes as the state imposes increasingly draconian power cuts across the country—over 24 hours at a stretch in parts of Havana and over 70 hours in some rural areas—in an increasingly desperate attempt to conserve fuel.

## Ageing Infrastructure

Power outages have been a feature of life for years on the communist-run island, where the electricity generation system, composed mainly of ageing Soviet-era plants, is in shambles. The pace of blackouts has accelerated since the fuel blockade began, however, with authorities citing a lack of fuel to run the generators that support the creaking national grid.

## Humanitarian Concerns

Since January, Washington has only allowed one oil tanker, from Russia, to dock in Cuba. The blockade, coupled with a flurry of sanctions on the Cuban state and foreign companies that do business with it, have tipped the country closer to the brink of collapse. Food, drinking water and medicine are in increasingly short supply, prompting the United Nations to warn of a humanitarian emergency.

## Solar Energy Investments

The government has invested heavily in solar energy to try alleviate the electricity shortages, but solar power, while increasing, still represents just 10 percent of the energy mix.

## Sources

- BSS

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Source: https://pulsetoday.com.bd/en/world/cuba-suffers-third-nationwide-blackout-in-six-months