Cuba's grid collapses again, 10 million without power
Cuba suffered another total blackout, its third nationwide grid collapse of 2026, after the state utility declared a full disconnection of the national system amid a fuel-starved generation crisis that has left roughly 10 million people in the dark.
- The state utility UNE announced a 'total disconnection' of the National Electroenergetic System; in its own daily report it put the power deficit above 2,000 megawatts, with five thermal units broken down and four more under maintenance.
- UNE said 106 distributed generation plants were sitting idle for lack of fuel and four fuel-supply vessels were out of service, and that the country's main plant, Antonio Guiteras, has been down for days.
- It is Cuba's third island-wide blackout of the year; officials said tens of thousands of surgeries were canceled, and a US oil blockade imposed in January has deepened the fuel shortages driving the collapse.
Why it matters: This is the third time in 2026 the whole island has gone dark. Cuba's grid is not suffering isolated failures anymore; it is a system running on empty, and the blackout is becoming the normal state.
Unión Eléctrica de Cuba (UNE), state grid operator — official notes ↗ · 7 جولائی، 20267/7/26 · ✓ Checked✓