Large swaths of Cuba were left in the dark Wednesday after a major power plant failure triggered a sweeping blackout across Havana and much of the island’s western region.
According to the New York Post, the government’s electricity utility said an outage at the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric power plant east of the capital disrupted electricity from Pinar del Río in the west to Camagüey in central Cuba.
State-run Radio Rebelde reported that restoring operations at the facility could take at least 72 hours.
The plant’s technical director, Román Pérez Castañeda, said a pipe burst in the boiler, causing a water leak and a fire that was extinguished without major damage. Crews must now locate the fault before restarting the unit.
Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy said the government was prioritizing power to critical infrastructure as two plants began coming back online.
“We are working to restore the National Electric System amid a complex energy situation,” he wrote on X.
By late afternoon, authorities said only 2.5% of Havana — roughly 21,100 customers — had electricity restored. No updated figures were released by late Wednesday night.
Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz sought to reassure residents.
“We trust in the experience and effort of the electrical workers to overcome this situation in the shortest possible time,” he wrote.
The U.S. Embassy in Havana urged people to “prepare for significant disruptions” and conserve essentials, warning that Cuba’s national grid is “increasingly unreliable.”
As night fell, Havana residents adapted as they have during frequent outages. Families gathered on stoops, cooking “caldosas” — a fresh seafood dish poured over corn chips — over wood or charcoal fires. Musicians played along the Malecón seawall. Others passed the time with dominoes under rechargeable bulbs.
“With the power outages, this is the only thing we young people have to distract ourselves,” resident Jeferson Silvera said.
For many, frustration ran high.
“My God, until when?” 66-year-old Genoveva Torres exclaimed upon learning of the scope of the blackout. “Then we won’t eat. We’ll have to eat bread again.”
Public transportation ground to a halt due to fuel shortages, stranding commuters. Odalis Sánchez, 63, recovering from surgery, struggled to get home with her grandson.
“Without power, you can’t do anything,” she said. “My grandson also is studying and I have to make him food. Public transportation isn’t helping.”
The blackout marks the second major outage in western Cuba in three months. Officials have acknowledged that aging thermoelectric plants, some operating for more than three decades, suffer from limited maintenance and fuel constraints.
Ernesto Couto Martínez, 76, remained resolute despite the hardship.
“We must keep fighting. There’s no other way,” he said. “We have to move forward, blockade or no blockade.”
