BBC in Cuba as island plunged into darkness

More than 10 million people are enduring power cuts after Cuba's national electrical grid collapsed again.

Cuba experienced a nationwide power outage on March 21, 2026, due to an unexpected failure at the Nuevitas thermoelectric plant in Camagüey province, marking the third blackout this month.

In March 2026, the Cuban government denied a request from the U.S. Embassy in Havana to import diesel fuel for its generators, exacerbating tensions amid a severe energy crisis in Cuba.

Cuba ha enfrentado su segundo apagón nacional en menos de una semana, lo que representa el séptimo colapso total del Sistema Eléctrico Nacional (SEN) en el último año y medio.

Cuba has started restoring electricity after its third nationwide blackout in March 2026, caused by an unexpected shutdown at the Nuevitas thermoelectric plant. As of Sunday, only 72,000 customers in Havana, including five hospitals, had regained power. The crisis is attributed to the country's deteriorating energy infrastructure and lack of fuel, worsened by U.S. sanctions and the cessation of oil shipments from Venezuela following the ousting of Nicolás Maduro.