Grid failure plunges Cuba into nationwide blackout

Cuba’s electricity system has deteriorated amid shortages of fuel and replacement parts.Cuba’s national electricity grid has collapsed, plunging the island into a widespread blackout.The state-run Electric Union, known as UNE, announced the collapse on X late on Sunday but did not immediately identify its cause, the extent of the disruption or when electricity would be restored.Before the nationwide failure, Havana’s electricity company had reported outages caused by damaged transformers, circuit failures, and planned cuts linked to insufficient generating capacity.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Cuba’s power grid collapses again, triggering third blackout in 10 dayslist 2 of 4Cuban president accuses US of genocide, seeking takeoverlist 3 of 4‘To play God’: Cuba’s healthcare system collapses under US pressurelist 4 of 4Petro urges global support to stop possible US invasion of Cubaend of listEarly on Sunday, it recorded dozens of unresolved complaints across various municipalities, including Guanabacoa, Habana del Este, La Lisa, and Marianao, according to the Reuters news agency.Authorities typically attempt to recover from a total collapse by creating small, isolated power networks to supply hospitals, water systems and food facilities before gradually reconnecting larger generating plants.Series of nationwide blackoutsSunday’s failure is the latest in a series of nationwide blackouts this year. The grid collapsed three times within nine days in July, including two island-wide failures in the same week. One of those outages left about 10 million people without electricity, while authorities struggled to restore power because the country could not generate enough electricity to meet demand even after the network was reconnected.Cuba’s electricity system has deteriorated amid shortages of fuel and replacement parts, as well as repeated breakdowns at ageing thermoelectric plants. Some generating facilities are more than 30 years old and have received limited maintenance.