Cuba suffers nationwide blackout after power grid collapses

Cuba’s national power grid has collapsed, causing a nationwide blackout across the island, according to state officials. The cause was not immediately known.

The Electric Union of Cuba reported the failure around noon Monday, saying the country’s National Electric System had suffered a “total disconnection” and that authorities were investigating the cause.

The collapse came after large parts of the country were already without electricity. Nearly two-thirds of Cuba had lost power before the grid failed, according to Reuters.

Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy said recovery protocols had been activated and that small local power systems were beginning to operate across Cuba. He said authorities were continuing to protect vital services during the outage.

No timeline was immediately given for restoring power nationwide.

The blackout is the latest in a series of major grid failures in Cuba, where electricity shortages have repeatedly disrupted daily life in recent years and again in recent months.

Cuban officials have blamed the crisis on fuel shortages amid a U.S. oil blockade, which has restricted the island’s access to fuel.