Story perspectives

UNE grid collapse triggers nationwide blackout, Cuba restores power

By Drooid · Sep 19, 2026, 10:31 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

UNE Triggers Blackout

Unión Eléctrica (UNE) reported a total grid collapse that caused a nationwide blackout on Friday.
A high-voltage line failure and bad weather triggered the outage just before 14:00 local time (18:00 GMT).
By dusk, only about 5% of Havana’s 862,000 customers had power, rising to 48% on Saturday.
Residents such as Frank Lorenzo and teacher Lidia Fernandez described the blackouts, water shortages and lack of electricity as unbearable.

Summary

Ministry Confirms Disconnection

UNE activated emergency recovery protocols immediately after the grid collapse.
Ministry of Energy and Mines confirmed total system disconnection at 14:00 local time.
U.S. sanctions introduced in January impose punitive tariffs on any nation supplying petroleum to Cuba.
Since December 2025, Russian tanker Anatoly Kolodkin delivered 100,000 tons of petroleum to Cuba.
Three gas-accompanied generation units were brought online as part of the restoration effort.

History

Historical Context

After the Soviet Union’s 1991 collapse cut Cuban oil imports to 10% of pre-1990 levels, the government imposed rotating blackouts that left about 70% of Havana without electricity and reduced generation from 1,200 MW to 450 MW—a 62% drop. In 2024 UNE’s line failure and U.S. sanctions caused another grid collapse, prompting Cuba to seek foreign oil such as Russia’s 100,000-ton tanker.

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UNE Triggers Blackout

Unión Eléctrica (UNE) reported a total grid collapse that caused a nationwide blackout on Friday.
A high-voltage line failure and bad weather triggered the outage just before 14:00 local time (18:00 GMT).
By dusk, only about 5% of Havana’s 862,000 customers had power, rising to 48% on Saturday.
Residents such as Frank Lorenzo and teacher Lidia Fernandez described the blackouts, water shortages and lack of electricity as unbearable.

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