- Title: Cuba begins restoring power after nationwide outage
- Date: 17th March 2026
- Summary: HAVANA, CUBA (MARCH 17, 2026) (REUTERS) PEOPLE WALKING DOWN A STREET IN DOWNTOWN HAVANA PEOPLE CHATTING AT THE ENTRANCE TO A BUILDING PEOPLE WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RESIDENT, CARLOS MONTES DE OCA, SAYING: “It affects practically everything. When it comes to cooking, you have to cook earlier because once night falls, well, you can imagine. The water -- you can’t use t
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: Blackout Crisis Cuba Havana Power Grid Power shortage Residents Struggle
- Location: HAVANA, CUBA
- City: HAVANA, CUBA
- Country: Cuba
- Topics: South America / Central America,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA003486417032026RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: PART AUDIO QUALITY AS INCOMING
Power was restored in the western and eastern central regions of Cuba on Tuesday (March 17) as some power plants reconnected to the grid, Cuba's grid operator UNE said on social media.
Cuba's national electric grid had collapsed on Monday (March 16), leaving about 10 million people without power amid a U.S.-imposed oil blockade that has crippled the island's already obsolete generation system.
UNE said that the Diez de Octubre and Carlos Manuel de Cespedes power stations were back online, adding that the western and eastern central systems had been reconnected to the island's grid.
"We have already established a connection from Pinar del Rio to Holguin province," Lazaro Guerra, Director General of Electricity at Cuba's Ministry of Energy and Mines, said on Cuban state television.
Residents in Havana shared their struggles during the outage.
"The power hasn’t come back on at my house, and we’ve been without electricity for about 12 hours," said Juana Perez. Another resident, Carlos Montes de Oca, highlighted how the situation disrupted daily life, including water access and cooking, leaving many idling while awaiting restoration.
The United States has ratcheted up pressure this year on long-time foe Cuba since capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro - Cuba's most important foreign benefactor - in January.
U.S. President Donald Trump cut off Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba and threatened to slap tariffs on any country that sells oil to Cuba, strangling the Caribbean island's already antiquated grid.
Trump also escalated his rhetoric against Cuba on Monday, saying he expected to have the "honour" of "taking Cuba in some form" and that "I can do anything I want" with the neighbouringcountry.
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