Overview

• Cuba's power grid was restored after a nationwide blackout left millions without electricity for several hours on Wednesday.
• The latest blackout, the third in under two months, was triggered by a breakdown at the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, Cuba's largest electricity producer.
• Cuban authorities announced that rolling five-hour daily blackouts will continue due to insufficient power generation capacity to meet demand.
• Frequent outages are attributed to aging oil-fired power plants, reduced fuel imports from Venezuela, Russia, and Mexico, and damage from recent hurricanes Oscar and Rafael.
• The energy crisis has significantly impacted daily life, with electricity essential for cooking and water pumping, and is expected to contribute to economic contraction this year.