Cuba's electric grid collapses again, less than a day after last blackout

Cuba's national electrical grid has collapsed again, state-run media reported, as the government was trying to reestablish the system following a country-wide blackout on Sunday night.

"Despite the progress made today, an oscillation triggered the collapse," said Lazaro Manuel Alonso, news director of Cuba's state-run television, in a post shared via social media on Monday.

The US Embassy in Havana has urged Americans in Cuba and those planning to visit the island to prepare for major disruptions after the country's electrical grid collapsed.

"As of 22.43 EST on August 2, Cuba experienced a total power failure due to a collapse of Cuba's electrical grid. According to Cuban regime media, the reason for the collapse and the timeline to restore power is unknown," the embassy said in a security alert.

The alert warned of reported cellphone and internet outages and urged US citizens to keep mobile phones and portable battery packs charged, maintain supplies of flashlights and spare batteries, stock nonperishable food and water, and ensure access to necessary medications.

"Cuba's electrical grid is increasingly unstable, and this is the sixth total grid failure of 2026, with three occurring in July 2026 alone," the embassy said.

Frequent blackouts

Cuba's ageing power generation system is under severe strain from fuel shortages, deteriorating infrastructure and a US-imposed oil blockade.

Blackouts affecting the entire island, home to about 10 million people, have become increasingly frequent in recent months.

Three outages hit Cuba over the course of nine days in July, followed by the outage on Sunday just before 11 pm local time.

A US-imposed oil blockade, after Trump's administration deposed former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro in January, has crippled the island's already ageing energy infrastructure.

Venezuela was Cuba's primary fuel supplier, and subsequent US pressure also led Mexico to halt oil shipments to the island.

Havana blames a decades-old US trade embargo for its failing infrastructure, while Washington says the blackouts are due to the mismanagement of Cuba's state-run economy.

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Source: TRT