In fall 2025, Cuba endures one of its worst energy crises in decades, with blackouts plunging communities from Santiago to Pinar del Río into darkness. The national grid operates below half of peak demand due to fuel shortages and infrastructure failures. New solar projects offer some hope, but the country struggles to sustain power.
Throughout September 2025, Cuba’s national electric grid—the Sistema Eléctrico Nacional (SEN), operated by the state utility Unión Eléctrica (UNE)—struggled to meet even half of peak demand. On September 8, UNE reported an available capacity of roughly 1,910 megawatts (MW) against a demand of 3,450 MW, leaving a shortfall of over 1,500 MW. An outage along the 220-kilovolt transmission line between Nuevitas and Las Tunas caused widespread blackouts across eastern provinces, with power cuts lasting up to 20 hours a day.
By late September, deficits regularly surpassed 1,600 to 1,800 MW. On September 30, UNE logged an available generation of 1,670 MW compared with a forecast demand of 2,840 MW. “The system has collapsed,” said an engineer in Holguín who asked not to be named. “It’s not just one unit down—it’s the entire network aging at once.”
The crisis stems from fuel scarcity and decaying infrastructure. Cuba relies heavily on imported fuel oil and diesel, but shipments from Venezuela have declined. By early October, national fuel reserves were “insufficient for the month.” Three thermal plants were completely offline, removing 270 MW from the grid, while diesel shortages sidelined another 600 MW in distributed generators.
An October 8 report indicated thermal plants operating at only 25 percent of total capacity, with three of seven major stations shut down for lack of parts or maintenance. Units at Felton, Renté, Nuevitas, and Santa Cruz were in critical condition. This led to nationwide blackouts between September 9–11, affecting as many as 10 million Cubans.
Daily life has been severely disrupted. In Santiago de Cuba, 63-year-old resident María Gómez told reporters she had not experienced a full day of electricity “since the start of September.” “You can’t refrigerate food,” she said. In Havana’s Alamar neighborhood, a bus driver noted outages last longer than scheduled: “They say four hours, but it’s usually eight or more.”
Amid the bleakness, Cuba has advanced renewable energy. In September, officials inaugurated two 21.8-MW photovoltaic parks in Holguín and Camagüey provinces, contributing around 597 MW at midday peak and roughly 3,000 megawatt-hours overall. The long-term goal is 24 percent of electricity from renewables by 2030, though progress is hampered by financing and technology constraints.
The blackouts coincide with Cuba’s deepest economic downturn since the 1990s, driven by tourism declines, tightening U.S. sanctions, and reduced Venezuelan oil. Local protests have emerged in eastern provinces, with residents chanting “¡Queremos luz!” (“We want light!”). On October 15, Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy stated that “maintenance brigades are working around the clock” and more fuel is expected from allies. Yet economist Omar Everleny Pérez Villanueva warned: “Without investment, Cuba will face this crisis every year.”
In Cienfuegos, 29-year-old teacher Ernesto López captured the mood: “We’ve learned to live by the sun. When it sets, the country shuts down.”