Cuba Faces Fourth Nationwide Blackout in Six Months: International Media Spotlight

In a troubling pattern, Cuba is grappling with its fourth nationwide blackout in under six months. This Saturday, several international media outlets turned their attention to the island's crumbling electrical infrastructure. The outage was triggered by a malfunction at a substation near Havana, which completely disconnected the National Electric System (SEN), plunging much of the country into darkness.

Despite efforts by the Cuban Electric Union (UNE) to restore power through "microsystems," the supply remains woefully inadequate to meet demand. Official figures reveal that only 110 megawatts (MW) are being generated, a mere fraction compared to the daytime demand of 1,800 MW and the nighttime requirement that exceeds 3,200 MW.

In an attempt to alleviate the crisis, the government has implemented microsystems in 12 of the 15 provinces. However, full restoration of the SEN remains uncertain. In the days leading up to the collapse, authorities preemptively suspended work and educational activities across the island due to the frequent and severe power outages.

On Friday, the UNE warned that power recovery would take several hours, though past massive blackouts suggest the process could drag on for days. Among the international media closely monitoring the situation, Spain's RTVE reported that a large portion of the island remains without electricity following the latest nationwide blackout.

RTVE highlighted that this is the fourth such incident in less than six months, attributing the energy crisis to chronic underfunding of the state-controlled sector. Meanwhile, France 24 described the blackout occurring on the night of March 14, caused by a failure in the national electricity system.

The story was also covered by El Heraldo de México, noting the incident occurred around 8:15 PM, leading to a significant loss of generation in western Cuba and ultimately resulting in the total collapse of the SEN. Chile's T13 emphasized that the SEN has been in a precarious state for months, plagued by constant breakdowns in its seven thermal power plants, chronic investment shortfalls, and fuel shortages.

Peru's Channel N also reported that the blackout was caused by a system malfunction, affecting millions nationwide. Independent experts agree that Cuba's energy crisis stems from chronic underfunding of the electric sector, which has been entirely state-controlled since 1959. While the regime maintains that U.S. sanctions have exacerbated the situation, studies indicate the island would need between $8 billion and $10 billion to modernize its energy system—an investment beyond its reach.

The frequent blackouts have worsened Cuba's economic crisis, which contracted by 1.9% in 2023 and failed to grow in 2024. Moreover, these outages have sparked social unrest in recent years. RTVE recalled the massive protests of July 2021 (11J) and the uprisings in March 2024, when thousands took to the streets in Santiago de Cuba and other locales demanding better living conditions and a stable power supply.

As Cubans remain in the dark, uncertainty lingers over when the SEN might stabilize and whether the country is doomed to continue facing massive blackouts in the near future. Amid resource shortages and a lack of investment, the energy crisis seems far from resolution, leaving the population in an increasingly precarious situation.

The situation is drawing growing attention from international media, which underscore the fragility of Cuba's electrical system, its reliance on outdated infrastructure, public discontent, and the government's inability to resolve a collapse that keeps millions of Cubans at risk of energy insecurity.