Cuba will face prolonged blackouts this Sunday affecting 59% of its territory during peak energy consumption hours, according to the state-owned Unión Eléctrica (UNE). The crisis, worsened since mid-2024, has reached one of its worst points with impacts exceeding 60%. President Miguel Díaz-Canel blamed fuel shortages on U.S. pressures.
The Unión Eléctrica forecasted for this Sunday afternoon-evening a generation capacity of 1,464 megawatts (MW) against a maximum demand of 2,980 MW, resulting in a deficit of 1,516 MW and an impact of 1,546 MW. This means more than half of the island will be left without power simultaneously during peak consumption.
The energy crisis has intensified since mid-2024. On Wednesday, February 4, a partial collapse left 3.4 million people without electricity in four eastern provinces. President Miguel Díaz-Canel confirmed on Thursday, February 5, that Cuba has not received oil from abroad since December due to the U.S. government's 'oil siege.' This includes blocking Venezuelan supplies after Nicolás Maduro's fall a month ago and imposing tariffs on countries selling crude to the island, deemed a 'threat' to U.S. national security.
In response, the government announced fuel rationing, prioritization of telework, semi-presential university classes, and suspension of events like the Havana Book Fair and international congresses. The main causes are frequent breakdowns in thermal power plants in poor technical condition, with decades of operation, and lack of foreign currency to import fuel, according to the government.
Six of the 16 operational thermoelectric units are out of service due to breakdowns or maintenance, including two of the three largest, which account for about 40% of the energy mix. The number of distributed generation motors stopped due to fuel shortages exceeds 1,000 MW. Independent experts attribute the crisis to chronic underfunding of the state sector since 1959, while the government blames U.S. sanctions for 'energy asphyxiation.'
The blackouts have contracted the economy by more than 15% since 2020 and have triggered major protests in recent years.
