Power Goes Out on Entire Island of Cuba, Leaving 10 Million in the Dark

The entire island of Cuba lost power on Friday, leaving its population of 10 million in the dark, according to Cuban officials.

Cuba's energy ministry wrote on X, formerly Twitter, Friday afternoon that "the National Electricity System was completely disconnected at 11 a.m. today" after one of the island's main power plants, the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, failed.

The total blackout started Thursday evening when millions of Cubans were left without power. To conserve energy, the Cuban government closed schools, shuttered some state-owned workplaces and canceled non-essential services on Friday.

"The situation has worsened in recent days," Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz said in a televised address in the early hours of Friday. "We must be fully transparent...we have been halting economic activities to ensure energy for the population."

But it wasn't enough to keep the grid running.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel wrote on X on Friday afternoon, "From the country's leadership, we are devoting absolute priority to addressing and solving this highly sensitive energy contingency for the nation. There will be no rest until his recovery."

In a follow-up post late Friday afternoon, Cuba's energy ministry said other generation sources are being used "to create micro systems in the territories."

Early Friday, Cuba's energy minister, Vicente de la O Levy, shared a post from his ministry that labeled "three major factors that affect the electricity generation deficit: the state of the infrastructure, the lack of fuel and the increase in demand."

During Marrero's address early Friday morning, Alfredo López, the chief of Cuba's electrical union known as UNE, said that the increased energy demand from small- and medium-sized companies as well as home air conditioners have led to the power outage.

Old thermoelectric plants that haven't been properly maintained and a lack of fuel to operate some plants were also listed as causes by López.

Marrero said in his address that there is an expected influx of fuel supply coming from Cuba's state-owned oil company.

Cubans have grown accustomed to frequent power outages during the country's worsening economic crisis.

A woman in a neighborhood in Old Havana, in the center of Cuba's capital city, told NBC News, "It really worries me that we may not yet be at the bottom of this electricity crisis."

"This is incredible," another Havana resident told the outlet. "I don't see a solution to this problem."

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.

Update 10/18/24, 4:26 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.

Update 10/18/24, 4:59 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.