Cuba's Grid Collapses Have Become a Daily Fact of Life

Cuba's electrical grid has undergone four complete nationwide collapses since October 2024. Rolling blackouts now stretch 18–24 hours daily across 11 million people. What began as recurring emergencies has hardened into chronic dysfunction. Fuel shortages—worsened by U.S. pressure on Venezuelan oil suppliers—have left aging thermoelectric plants starving. The government's three-year effort to stabilize the grid has failed. Solar parks and household panels are filling gaps, but without battery storage or reliable baseload power, they cannot replace what the centralized grid once provided.