A series of interruptions to the nationwide electrical service of

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

occurred during the months of February, March, October and December 2024. The blackouts began in February 2024 with

power outage A power outage, also called a blackout, a power failure, a power blackout, a power loss, a power cut, or a power out is the complete loss of the electrical power network supply to an end user. There are many causes of power failures in an el ...

s that affected nearly half of the country. In March, further blackouts caused widespread protests. On 5–6 October, a third of the country experienced outages. From 18 to 22 October 2024, a total nationwide blackout occurred due to the failure of the Antonio Guiteras Power Plant. During the October shutdowns, the

Cuban government Cuba is communist and has had a socialist political system since 1961 based on the "one state, one party" principle. Cuba is constitutionally defined as a single-party Marxist–Leninist socialist republic with semi-presidential powers. The pre ...

announced energy-saving measures. The blackouts were the most severe living crisis that the country has experienced since the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

in 1991.

History

February

Parts of Cuba experienced blackouts starting on 8 February 2024. On February 13, 45% of the country was affected by power outages.

March

In March 2024, Cuba experienced large-scale power outages, amidst an economic crisis that hit the country. The blackouts, which peaked on 17 March and typically lasted for up to 18 hours a day, were due to the frequent breakdowns of the Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Power Plant, the largest provider of electricity to the island, and the lack of fuel shipments from Cuba's allies

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. Infrastructure problems within the country were also cited to be one of the key factors for the March blackouts. Hundreds of people in Cuba's second-largest city,

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

, protested to express their dissatisfaction with chronic power blackouts and food shortages.

October

On 5 October 2024, Cuba's electrical service experienced interruptions. The next day, a deficit of 1.045

gigawatts The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named in honor o ...

in the country's power output caused about a third of its population to go without power. On 17 October 2024, a blackout left roughly half of Cuba without electricity, prompting the government of Cuba to announce energy-saving measures. A total nationwide power outage began at around 11:00 local time on 18 October, after the Antonio Guiteras Power Plant in

Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ; ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas Province, Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-American religions, Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Mat ...

, the country's largest, went offline, resulting in the loss of 1.64 gigawatts at peak hours, equivalent to half the total consumer demand. Power was partially restored for a short time before shutting down entirely again on 20 October. By 21 October, state media claimed that power had been restored to 50% of customers in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. while electricity had been restored to 70.89% of the nationwide population by 22 October. Some service disruptions were still reported on 23 October; however, it was reported that the power supply has been restored to the entire island the next day, according to the Cuba Tourist Board and Canadian airline Sunwing, which operates flights to several Cuban airports. Cuban President

Miguel Díaz-Canel Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (; born 20 April 1960) is a Cuban politician and engineer. He has served as the 8th First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba since 2021 and as the 17th president o ...

Singao blamed the blackout on the

United States embargo against Cuba The United States embargo against Cuba is the only active embargo within the United States which has prevented U.S. businesses from conducting trade or commerce with Cuban interests since 1958. Modern Cuba–United States relations, diplomatic ...

, which he said prevented much needed supplies and replacement parts from reaching Cuba. Cuban Prime Minister

Manuel Marrero Cruz Manuel Marrero Cruz (born 11 July 1963) is a Cuban politician currently serving as the Prime Minister of Cuba, and the first since re-establishment of the office of Prime Minister in December 2019 after the 43-year abolition of the position dat ...

blamed deteriorating infrastructure, fuel shortages and rising demand for the outages and said that the fuel shortages were the biggest factor. Cuba has suffered from a drop in fuel shipments from Venezuela in 2024.

November

On 6 November,

Hurricane Rafael Hurricane Rafael was the strongest November tropical cyclone in the Gulf of Mexico on record, tied with 1985's Hurricane Kate. The seventeenth named storm, eleventh hurricane, and fifth major hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season ...

made landfall near Playa Majana,

Artemisa Province Artemisa Province is one of the two new provinces created from the former La Habana Province, whose creation was approved by the Cuban National Assembly on August 1, 2010, the other being Mayabeque Province. The new provinces came into existen ...

, causing a nationwide blackout.

December

On 4 December, the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant failed again, causing a nationwide blackout.

Effects

All non-essential public services were suspended starting on 17 October and were to remain closed along with schools until 23 October. Dissemination of information related to Hurricane Oscar, which made landfall near Baracoa on 20 October, was interrupted. Government celebrations for Cuban Culture Day scheduled for 21–23 October were cancelled, in an effort to reduce strain on the electrical network. President Díaz-Canel also cancelled his physical attendance at the

16th BRICS summit The 2024 BRICS summit was the BRICS#Summits, sixteenth annual BRICS summit, held in Kazan, Russia. It was the first BRICS summit to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates as members, following their accession to the organizat ...

in Russia to attend to the blackout.

Reactions

President

blamed the outages on difficulties in importing fuel and other resources due to "financial and energy persecution" by the United States. Local authorities noted causes including increased demand from small- and medium-sized companies and residential air conditioners, as well as poor maintenance of power plants. Díaz-Canel also stated that any protests to the government's response would not be tolerated and that all protesters would be "processed rigorously under our revolutionary law". Shortly after protests started in October, Díaz-Canel and prime minister

appeared on a televised address in military fatigues claiming "counter-revolutionaries from abroad" were fomenting protests in Cuba. Díaz-Canel also stated that "we have organized from the defense councils" and "we are not going to accept and we will not allow anyone to act by provoking vandalistic acts, much less disturbing the peace of our people, and that is a conviction and that is a principle of our revolution". Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy claimed the October outages would end by 21 or 22 October; however, Hurricane Oscar made landfall in Cuba on 20 October, severely disrupting efforts to restore the grid.

Protests

On 17 March and 18 March 2024, blackouts alongside a poor harvest and food shortages caused widespread protests primarily in

, Cuba's second largest city, during which three people were arrested. Cuba accused the

government of the United States The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, execut ...

of stirring up unrest, an accusation that the United States denied. Protests also erupted hours after the October blackout began. Protesters in the neighborhood of

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.barricades Barricade (from the French '' barrique'' - 'barrel') is any object or structure that creates a barrier or obstacle to control, block passage or force the flow of traffic in the desired direction. Adopted as a military term, a barricade denote ...

in the streets. Without electricity, Havana's water pumps could not operate, nor could food be refrigerated, leaving many residents in a state of "desperation". In an effort to quell protests in Havana, the government cut

internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

access and deployed police formations to clear protesters by force. In Santiago de Cuba, large police formations were deployed to deter protesters, however, some residents still took to the streets protesting the lack of electricity. Protests also took place in

Manicaragua Manicaragua () is a municipality and mountain town in the Villa Clara Province of Cuba. It is located in the Escambray Mountains at the southern part of Villa Clara, bordering the provinces of Cienfuegos Province, Cienfuegos to the west and Sanct ...

, where protesters surrounded the local government headquarters chanting "Down with!" and "Abusers!"

Humanitarian aid

Mexican president

Claudia Sheinbaum Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (born 24 June 1962) is a Mexican politician, energy and climate change scientist, and academic who has served as the 66th president of Mexico since 2024. She is the List of elected and appointed female heads of state and ...

confirmed the shipment of approximately 500,000 barrels of oil to the island along with technicians to help assist the situation.

References

{{Cuba topics October 2024 in Cuba Power outages in North America Energy in Cuba