Storms Disrupt Cuba Power Restoration After 6th Nationwide Blackout
Updated
Updated · CNN · Aug 3
Storms Disrupt Cuba Power Restoration After 6th Nationwide Blackout
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Aug 3
Summary
Thunderstorms interrupted Cuba’s grid recovery less than a day after the island’s sixth nationwide blackout of 2026, knocking generating units offline during restoration, state operator Unión Eléctrica said.
Six nationwide outages have now hit Cuba this year—two in March, three in July and the latest in August—as fuel shortages and an aging power system keep the grid fragile.
U.S. pressure on oil supplies has deepened the crisis: shipments from Venezuela have stopped after Washington’s move against Nicolás Maduro, and Mexico has also halted exports.
About 10 million Cubans are adapting to erratic summer power cuts by shifting chores to overnight windows and, in Havana, turning to solar-powered tricycles as fuel runs short.
Havana has started limited reforms, approving its first foreign fuel-import venture and allowing nearly 200 businesses into wholesale fuel distribution, but officials say results will come only gradually.