Widespread electricity outages have hit Havana after the country's largest power plants stopped operating due to an acute fuel shortage [1].
The crisis disrupts essential services and daily life for millions in the Cuban capital, highlighting the fragility of the nation's energy infrastructure during fuel deficits.
Reports indicate that approximately 2 million residents of Havana remain without electricity [2]. The outages were triggered when the central power plants, which form the backbone of the city's energy grid, were forced to shut down because they lacked the necessary fuel to operate [1].
Recovery efforts by the local electricity company, Union Eléctrica, have been slow. As of March 16, 2025, only about 19% of electricity consumers had their service restored [2].
The fuel shortage has created a systemic failure across the capital's power distribution network. Because the largest production plants are offline, the city is unable to meet the basic energy demands of its population, leaving the vast majority of the city in the dark.
Local officials and Union Eléctrica said they have not provided a definitive timeline for full restoration, as the availability of power remains tied to the procurement of fuel. The situation has left millions of people struggling to access water, refrigeration, and communication tools in one of the most populated regions of the country [2].
“Approximately 2 million residents of Havana remain without electricity”
The scale of these outages underscores a critical vulnerability in Cuba's energy sector, where a reliance on a few large-scale plants makes the entire capital susceptible to total collapse during fuel supply chain disruptions. The slow restoration rate suggests that the fuel shortage is not a momentary lapse but a deeper systemic crisis.
