It is 3:00 AM in Havana, and the silence is heavy. No hum of refrigerators. No distant buzz of air conditioners. Just the sound of neighbors' voices drifting from balconies, trying to catch a stray breeze because the fans stopped hours ago. This is what it looks like when Cuba experiences nationwide power outage—a scenario that has shifted from a rare emergency to a grueling, predictable part of life in 2026.
Honestly, calling it a "blackout" feels like an understatement. It's a total systemic freeze.
What is actually happening with the grid?
The Cuban National Electric System (SEN) is basically a house of cards held together by duct tape and hope. In the last few months, we’ve seen multiple total collapses. Just this January, a failure on a major transmission line connecting two of the island's largest plants sparked a 12-hour blackout that paralyzed the western region.
It’s not just one thing going wrong. It’s everything at once.
You've got the Antonio Guiteras plant—the workhorse of the island—failing more often than it runs. Most of these thermal plants are over 30 years old. They’re obsolete. They need spare parts that the government can't afford, or can't buy because of the embargo. When Guiteras goes down, the whole island feels the shudder.
Then there’s the fuel problem.
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Cuba used to rely on Venezuela for about half its oil. But with the recent geopolitical chaos in Caracas and the capture of Nicolás Maduro, those shipments have slowed to a trickle. The U.S. has even started seizing tankers linked to Venezuela. Without that subsidized crude, Cuba is forced to scavenge the global market with "hard currency" it simply doesn't have.
Why 2026 feels different
In the past, the government could sort of patch things up. Not anymore.
Lázaro Guerra, a top official at the Ministry of Energy and Mines, recently admitted that the generation deficit is massive. We're talking about a gap of nearly 1,000 MW on some days. To put that in perspective, the country’s minimum demand is around 2,400 MW. When you’re missing a third of your power, you can’t just "manage" the load. You have to shut down entire provinces.
The domino effect
When the lights go out, the water stops. Pumps need electricity.
When the power stays off for 20 hours, the food in the fridge—already expensive and hard to find—rots.
Small business owners, the mipymes, are watching their investments disappear because they can't afford the diesel to run generators.
It’s a brutal cycle.
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Even the tourism sector, the island's lifeline, is taking a hit. While big resorts in Varadero usually have massive backup generators, they aren't immune to the fuel shortages. I’ve seen reports from travelers at 5-star hotels complaining about no elevators, tepid water, and no AC for days at a time. Canada’s travel advisory is currently at a "yellow" level, warning about shortages of basically everything: food, medicine, and yes, electricity.
Can solar save the day?
There's a lot of talk about solar. China and Vietnam have stepped in to help build dozens of solar farms. The goal is to get 2,000 MW of solar energy online by 2028.
But here’s the reality: as of early 2026, we’re nowhere near that.
Solar helps during the day, sure. But it doesn’t fix the 8:00 PM peak when everyone turns on their lights and stoves. Without massive battery storage—which is incredibly expensive—renewables are just a band-aid on a gushing wound.
What to expect if you're there
If you're living through this or planning to visit, you've got to be prepared for total unpredictability.
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- Connectivity is a gamble. Cell towers have batteries, but they don't last forever. During a nationwide outage, the internet often just... vanishes.
- Cash is king. ATMs don't work in the dark. If you don't have physical bills (USD or Euros), you're stuck.
- The "Special Period" vibes. Older Cubans are comparing this to the 1990s. The sense of "resist and endure" is being replaced by a much more urgent desperation.
The government is warning that 2026 will be "difficult." That feels like a massive understatement. With the U.S. doubling down on sanctions and the Venezuelan supply line effectively cut, the Cuban grid is operating on borrowed time.
Moving forward
If you are currently in Cuba or heading there, your "survival kit" needs to be more robust than just a portable charger. You need a high-capacity power bank, a rechargeable fan (absolute lifesaver for sleep), and enough cash to last your entire stay. Don't rely on the "scheduled" blackout lists—they are rarely accurate when the system is this fragile.
Keep an eye on the Unión Eléctrica (UNE) Facebook page. It’s the closest thing to an official scoreboard for the crisis, though the comments section is usually a mix of frustration and "pot-banging" protests.
For now, the best strategy is to plan for the worst and hope for a few hours of light.