Cuba has been racing to restore power after a massive blackout plunged large parts of the island into darkness. The state-run Union Electrica (UNE), which operates the country’s electrical system, said nearly half of its customers in the capital, Havana, had regained power on Saturday. “Re-establishing is being done gradually, as conditions permit,” UNE posted on social media.

The latest blackout — at least the 12th since late 2024 and the sixth this year alone — first affected five eastern provinces, including Havana, before spreading across the entire island. Cuban authorities told Reuters on Friday that the collapse resulted from a failure in high-voltage transmission lines in the central part of the country. UNE also cited “unstable weather conditions” as a contributing factor.

For years, Cuba’s ageing infrastructure and fuel shortages have led to sporadic blackouts. But outages have become more frequent after the United States imposed an energy blockade in January in a bid to put political and economic pressure on the country’s government. United Nations human rights experts have condemned the US oil blockade, calling it a violation of international law and warning that Cuba risks becoming a “silent Gaza” as shortages and blackouts grow ever more critical.

Some residents said they were already without power when Friday’s blackout struck. “Yesterday, I’d gone without power for 24 hours. They turned the lights on for an hour, and then the grid collapsed,” Havana resident Frank Lorenzo, 23, told Reuters. Others, like Lidia Fernandez, told AFP that a lack of fuel makes it difficult to run backup generators, which rely on imported diesel. “It’s one thing after another: no water, no gas for cooking, no electricity,” the 36-year-old teacher said. She added, “Honestly, I don’t know how we haven’t gone crazy.”

Source: www.aljazeera.com