For millions of Cubans, power outages are no longer an occasional nuisance—they’ve become a daily ordeal. As September 2025 unfolds, the nation finds itself in the throes of a worsening energy crisis, leaving entire cities in the dark for hours on end and pushing essential services to the brink. According to official reports from the Electric Union (UNE), disruptions to Cuba’s National Electric System (SEN) have intensified, with blackouts stretching across the island and no clear end in sight.
The numbers paint a stark picture. On September 18, 2025, the UNE reported that Cuba’s generation capacity deficit reached a staggering 1,826 megawatts (MW) during the peak night hours. By 6:00 AM the next day, available capacity stood at just 1,660 MW, while demand soared to 2,820 MW—leaving more than a third of the country without electricity and a real deficit of 1,190 MW. The outlook grew even bleaker by noon, with the projected deficit impact rising to 1,300 MW. As evening approached, national demand was expected to hit around 3,450 MW, but available generation would only reach 1,760 MW, resulting in a deficit of 1,690 MW and impacting up to 1,760 MW—nearly half of Cuba’s national consumption, according to official figures cited by Granma and other state media.
Behind these numbers lies a complex web of technical failures, chronic underinvestment, and acute financial woes. Unit 2 of the Felton thermoelectric plant in Holguín, for instance, was out of service due to a malfunction as of September 19. Four other major units—5 from Mariel, 1 from Felton, 2 from Santa Cruz, and 4 from Carlos Manuel de Céspedes in Cienfuegos—were offline for maintenance. Unit 6 at the Nuevitas plant in Camagüey also shut down unexpectedly. These outages are compounded by technical limitations that have kept 483 MW offline, underscoring the fragility of an energy infrastructure reliant on thermoelectric plants that have been running for decades.
But it’s not just mechanical breakdowns that are to blame. Fuel shortages have played an equally disruptive role. The UNE acknowledged that 53 distributed generation plants ceased production due to a lack of fuel, resulting in a loss of 345 MW. Another 117 MW remain idle due to the absence of lubricants, bringing the total affected by fuel-related issues to 452 MW. This dual crisis—aging infrastructure and insufficient fuel—has left the nation’s energy system teetering on the edge.
Havana, Cuba’s bustling capital, has not been spared. On September 18, residents endured 16 hours and 23 minutes without power, with all six districts affected. Service was only restored at 1:28 AM the following day, after outages peaked at 129 MW at 8:10 PM. The city’s electric company attributed the interruptions to the demands of the national grid, but for many, the explanation rang hollow. The reality, as reported by Celebritax, is a nationwide collapse rooted in years of underinvestment, lack of planning, and limited autonomy for local energy managers.
For those hoping that renewable energy might offer a lifeline, the news is mixed. The UNE highlighted production from 31 photovoltaic solar parks, which generated 2,555 megawatt-hours with a midday peak of 359 MW on September 18. Yet, these contributions remain dwarfed by the scale of the deficit. Despite repeated government announcements about renewable energy projects, the country continues to depend on outdated thermal plants and costly fuel agreements that have failed to meet actual demand.
Vicente de la O Levy, Cuba’s Minister of Energy and Mines, provided a candid assessment of the situation during a press conference with state media. He acknowledged that the crisis has been worsened by the withdrawal of power barges—floating generation units that once provided a critical buffer—due to non-payment. "Every Cuban knows, because they are smart, that the reason the barges left is because we couldn’t pay," he stated. Only two of the original eight barges remain, contributing just 70 MW to the SEN. Their withdrawal in August, right as demand peaked, further deepened the deficit.
De la O Levy didn’t mince words about the root causes: "We might have inefficiencies, but over 95% of the real issue is a lack of funding. It’s clear that workers in the electric system are tireless, and there is a genuine shortage of resources. Without $100 million, we cannot perform the necessary maintenance on the Guiteras Thermoelectric Plant." The result, he explained, is a generation deficit now exceeding 2,000 MW, with widespread and prolonged blackouts becoming the norm.
The minister also addressed the recent unexpected outage in Havana, which followed the sudden failure of unit 5 at Nuevitas. To prevent a total system collapse, entire circuits in the capital had to be disconnected. There was a glimmer of hope, however: unit 1 of the Lidio Ramón Pérez thermoelectric plant in Felton, Holguín, is expected to rejoin the grid with a capacity over 220 MW after early repairs. Recovery efforts are also ongoing at Mariel, which suffered a seawater pipe rupture, and adjustments have been completed on unit 5 at Renté.
As the old system creaks under the strain, Cuba’s government is doubling down on solar energy and battery storage. De la O Levy reported that 656 MW of the targeted 1,000 MW for the year are already installed, with new solar parks being synchronized each week. The government is also acquiring energy storage batteries to regulate frequency—vital for preventing system failures and enhancing stability. These batteries are reportedly ready for shipment and installation. Still, the minister cautioned, "This doesn’t mean fuel supplies are stable," and pointed to ongoing shortages of lubricants, spare parts, and maintenance funding as persistent obstacles.
For ordinary Cubans, the impact of these blackouts is deeply personal. Prolonged outages disrupt food preservation, access to drinking water, and the operation of essential services like hospitals and schools. The health and well-being of the population are at risk, and the sense of frustration is palpable. While official statements emphasize the resilience of workers and the promise of renewables, the reality is that power outages are now a daily fact of life.
The government’s efforts to diversify the energy matrix—though ambitious—have yet to deliver tangible relief. As Celebritax and Granma both report, the combination of technical failures, fuel shortages, and financial constraints has left Cuba living under a regime of permanent blackouts. For now, the lights flicker on and off, and the search for lasting solutions continues.