Overview

• The national power system went down around 9:14–9:15 a.m., leaving roughly 10 million people without electricity as the Energy Ministry opened an investigation and began restoration.
• Prime Minister Manuel Marrero visited the state utility’s headquarters and said engineers had a well-defined strategy to address the outage.
• Many residents were already enduring daily cuts lasting up to 16–20 hours, prompting immediate concerns over water pumping and food refrigeration.
• Cuba’s electricity network depends on decades-old, oil-fired plants and limited fuel supplies, factors repeatedly blamed for systemwide failures.
• Stopgap measures such as rented power ships, crude-fueled generators and Chinese-backed solar parks have delivered limited relief, with some projects delayed and capacity withdrawn over payment issues.