HAVANA – Millions of Cubans remained without electricity on Saturday following a major power grid failure that plunged the island into darkness the previous night.

The outage, which began around 8 p.m. local time on Friday, marks the first major blackout of 2025. It follows similar incidents in October, November, and December, highlighting the country’s ongoing struggles amid a severe economic crisis.

According to Cuba’s Ministry of Energy and Mines, the blackout was caused by a failure at a substation in the outskirts of Havana. Internet and phone services remained unstable as efforts to restore power continued into Saturday evening.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel addressed the situation on social media, stating that authorities are “working intensely to restore stability” to the national power system.

Lázaro Guerra, the director of electricity at the ministry, assured citizens on national television that power was being prioritized for essential services, including hospitals.

The Cuban Electricity Union outlined a strategy to create “microsystems”—small independent power networks—to gradually restore electricity across the country. Several of these were already operational in the provinces of Guantánamo, Santiago, Las Tunas, and Pinar del Río. In Sancti Spíritus, the provincial energy company reported that more than 200,000 customers had their power restored using this method.

For many Cuban households, where electric appliances are essential for cooking, the prolonged outage raises concerns about food spoilage in the island’s hot climate.

“I was about to start cooking spaghetti when the power suddenly went out,” said 79-year-old Cecilia Duquense, a resident of Central Havana. “And now what?”

Authorities continue working to fully restore power, but many Cubans remain in the dark as the country grapples with persistent infrastructure challenges.