Cuba Suffers Seventh Major Blackout This Year
On Friday, September 18, 2026, Cuba's National Electric System fully disconnected. UNE posted on X that recovery protocols were activated and crews were investigating. The Energy Ministry separately stated a total disconnection had occurred. Felix Estrada of UNE said protocols were in place for gradual restoration. By late evening, power had returned to scattered Havana areas mainly near hospitals; by dusk about 5% of Havana's roughly 862,000 customers had service. Authorities were forming micro-grid micro-islands in Camagüey, Pinar del Río and Granma and reactivating hospital and emergency systems first. Outlets disagree on count and trigger: Islam Times and a wire summary call it the seventh major blackout of 2026; Caliber.Az calls it the sixth nationwide since January. Caliber.Az reports a western transmission-line failure collapsing power as far as Matanzas before the east disconnected; StratNewsGlobal cites high-voltage line failure in central Cuba around 2 p.m.; Granma cited unstable weather as an aggravating factor. StratNewsGlobal notes three July 2026 collapses; Yenişafak notes another major outage on August 2, 2026. Caliber.Az states US energy restrictions began January 2026 under President Trump. Residents described compounding hardship. Mercedes Rodriguez, waiting for transport in Havana, said no one can stand the blackouts and that food, water and power are lacking. Frank Lorenzo said he had gone 24 hours without power, had lights for an hour, then the grid collapsed. Cause details and full restoration timing remained under investigation.