{"id":269905,"date":"2026-03-16T14:55:52","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T18:55:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=269905"},"modified":"2026-03-16T17:58:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T21:58:39","slug":"cubas-power-system-suffers-total-collapse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/cubas-power-system-suffers-total-collapse\/","title":{"rendered":"Cuba\u2019s power system suffers total collapse"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Cuba\u2019s electrical grid suffered a total collapse on Monday, the country\u2019s power operator said, marking the latest nationwide blackout in recent years, and the first since the US effectively shut off the flow of oil<\/a> to the island of roughly 10 million people.<\/p>

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Efforts are underway to restore power across the country, the state-owned operator said, adding that no faults detected in the electrical units operating at the time the grid collapsed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nationwide power outages<\/a> have been reported frequently over the past few years. Cuban officials have previously attributed them to US economic sanctions, though critics have also faulted a lack of investment in the island\u2019s ailing generation system.<\/p>

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Cuba heavily relies on oil for electricity generation. The effective blockade of fuel shipments has worsened the country\u2019s energy crisis, causing intermittent power cuts, a rationing of medical supplies and a decrease in tourism, officials have said. Fuel prices have skyrocketed so much that gas can be as much as $9 a liter on the unofficial market, meaning it costs more than $300 to fill up a car\u2019s gas tank, which is more than most Cubans earn in a year.<\/p>

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CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOfficials in the US (government) must be feeling very happy by the harm caused to every Cuban family,\u201d Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fern\u00e1ndez de Coss\u00edo said in response to Monday\u2019s blackout.<\/p>

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On Saturday, residents of the central Cuban city of Mor\u00f3n took to the streets to protest problems with the electricity supply and access to food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n