Cuba’s national electricity grid collapsed for the third time in less than 10 days on Tuesday after the failure of a major power generation unit triggered a nationwide outage, authorities said.
State power operator UNE said the shutdown of the Felton 1 generating unit caused a sudden fluctuation in the system, forcing the National Electric System (SEN) offline.
“The shutdown of the Felton 1 unit caused an oscillation in the system’s parameters with an abrupt change in frequency, which caused the SEN to go offline,” UNE said in a statement on X.
The utility said it was working to restore electricity by restarting thermoelectric plants in western Cuba and gradually reconnecting the national grid.
Officials added that preparations were underway to establish temporary microgrids before restoring power to essential services and other areas in phases.
The latest outage follows another nationwide blackout on July 10, underscoring the island’s worsening energy crisis.
Cuba has been grappling with its worst economic downturn in decades, marked by chronic fuel shortages and recurring power failures. Cuban authorities have blamed much of the crisis on tighter US sanctions, arguing they have disrupted fuel supplies, discouraged foreign business and restricted access to international financing.