Millions of people without electricity after another grid failure

The Cuban Ministry of Energy announced on Friday the outage of the national power grid, which led to a blackout across the entire island. "The energy system has been completely shut down," the ministry stated on the X platform. The cause of the failure was not initially given. According to the state power operator Union Electrica de Cuba (UNE), the outage began on Friday just before 2:00 PM local time, which is 8:00 PM Polish time. The cause was a transmission network malfunction, accompanied by unfavorable weather conditions in the central part of the country. Power was managed to be restored to some facilities of key importance by late evening, including hospitals and water pumping stations in Havana. The director of the national power dispatch center, Felix Estrada, announced the launch of procedures allowing for the "gradual restoration" of energy supply. Work continued on Saturday as well. This was at least the sixth partial or total power system outage in Cuba this year. The island, with about 9.4 million inhabitants, has been suffering from frequent energy supply interruptions for a long time. The deepening crisis in Cuba Cuba is largely dependent on imported fuels. Aging energy infrastructure and chronic shortages of resources have come under even greater pressure due to US sanctions and the restriction of oil supplies to the island. Food and medicine are also becoming increasingly difficult to access. Hospitals are having problems with normal functioning, and schools and offices are sometimes closed due to a lack of electricity. - Lately, it is becoming normal. It used to happen less often, maybe once a month. Just yesterday, we had no electricity for 24 hours. They turned it on only for an hour, and then it disappeared again - said a Havana resident, Frank Lorenzo, to Reuters. - One misfortune after another. There is no water, gas for cooking, or electricity. Frankly, I don't know how we haven't gone crazy yet - said Lidia Fernandez, a 36-year-old teacher, to the AFP agency. The recurring power outages have caused rare protests in Cuba. Unauthorized demonstrations are illegal there, and their participants face prison sentences. Outdated power plants and fuel shortages Seven power plants in very poor technical condition are responsible for electricity production in Cuba. Some have been operating for over 40 years, which is why failures often occur in them, and other units are shut down for repairs. Communist authorities are trying to reduce the country's dependence on imported oil by developing photovoltaic farms with the support of, among others, China. However, these investments are not yet able to provide the island with a stable energy supply. Havana Accuses Washington Cuban authorities blame the administration of US President Donald Trump for deepening the fuel crisis. They also condemn the latest sanctions, including their new round announced in August, considering them an element of a broader campaign of pressure on the island's authorities. It is estimated that Venezuela, one of Cuba's most important regional allies, supplied it with about 35 thousand barrels of oil per day. This accounted for about half of Cuba's demand. However, supplies were halted after the US President Nicolás Maduro's actions in January. Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on the countries supplying oil to Havana. The United States has also seized several fuel transports heading to Cuba. Washington, however, maintains that the energy crisis on the island is primarily the result of long-term mismanagement. American authorities also accuse Cuba of posing a "threat to national security." Trump openly spoke about the possibility of removing Cuban authorities from power and even threatened a "friendly takeover" of the country in March.