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WorldQuiet 5d · day 7

Cuba's power grid collapses nationwide in seventh blackout of 2026

A transmission failure in western Cuba cascaded into an islandwide outage, the latest amid a US fuel blockade that began in January.

newest coverage 5d agosummary written 6d ago75 pieces1.1k likes & upvotes53 comments RedditNewswiresMastodonBlueskyGoogle NewsHacker News

What to know

  • Cuba's national grid collapsed Friday, September 18, 2026, the sixth-to-seventh nationwide blackout of the year, per differing wire counts.
  • The collapse stems from a fuel and parts shortage tied to a U.S. energy blockade imposed in January to pressure political change; only one fuel tanker, from Russia, has reached Cuba since.
  • Restoration was slow: by dusk only 5% of Havana's roughly 862,000 customers had power back, with priority given to hospitals and emergency facilities.
  • Even outside collapse events, Cubans routinely endure blackouts lasting over 30 consecutive hours, compounding food, water, transport and health strains.

“Maybe it'll come back this afternoon or tomorrow—there's no way to know. We just have to wait.”

Abilén Marrero, Havana homemaker · Associated Press (via Orlando Sentinel) ↗ · Sep 17

Donald TrumpDonald Trump U.S. PresidentCuba's Ministry of Energy and Mines State energy authorityMercedes Rodriguez Havana resident, workerAbilén Marrero Havana resident, homemaker

Cuba's power grid collapses nationwide in seventh blackout of 2026
Orlando Sentinel

How it unfolded 3 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlespostscomments

Peak 9 pieces in two hours at Sep 19, 4 AM; 75 pieces over 7 days (46 articles · 24 posts · 5 comments) Sep 18, 2 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Reddit 1Sep 18, 4 PM — 7 pieces · 6 articles · 1 comment — Newswires 6, Reddit 1Sep 18, 6 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 18, 8 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 18, 10 PM — 7 pieces · 4 articles · 1 post · 2 comments — Newswires 4, Reddit 2, Mastodon 1Sep 19, 12 AM — 4 pieces · 2 articles · 2 posts — Mastodon 2, Newswires 2Sep 19, 2 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 19, 4 AM — 9 pieces · 8 articles · 1 post — Google News 5, Newswires 3, Mastodon 1Sep 19, 6 AM — 8 pieces · 4 articles · 4 posts — Mastodon 3, Newswires 2, Google News 2, +1 moreSep 19, 8 AM — 7 pieces · 5 articles · 2 posts — Newswires 3, Google News 2, Mastodon 2Sep 19, 10 AM — 8 pieces · 8 articles — Newswires 8Sep 19, 12 PM — 9 pieces · 5 articles · 4 posts — Mastodon 5, Newswires 4Sep 19, 2 PM — 4 pieces · 1 article · 2 posts · 1 comment — Mastodon 2, Reddit 1, Newswires 1Sep 19, 4 PM — 3 pieces · 1 article · 2 posts — Bluesky 1, Hacker News 1, Newswires 1Sep 19, 6 PM — quietSep 19, 8 PM — quietSep 19, 10 PM — quietSep 20, 12 AM — quietSep 20, 2 AM — quietSep 20, 4 AM — 3 pieces · 2 posts · 1 comment — Mastodon 2, Reddit 1Sep 20, 6 AM — quietSep 20, 8 AM — quietSep 20, 10 AM — quietSep 20, 12 PM — quietSep 20, 2 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 20, 4 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 20, 6 PM — quietSep 20, 8 PM — quietSep 20, 10 PM — quietSep 21, 12 AM — quietSep 21, 2 AM — quietSep 21, 4 AM — quietSep 21, 6 AM — quietSep 21, 8 AM — quietSep 21, 10 AM — quietSep 21, 12 PM — quietSep 21, 2 PM — quietSep 21, 4 PM — quietSep 21, 6 PM — quietSep 21, 8 PM — quietSep 21, 10 PM — quietSep 22, 12 AM — quietSep 22, 2 AM — quietSep 22, 4 AM — quietSep 22, 6 AM — quietSep 22, 8 AM — quietSep 22, 10 AM — quietSep 22, 12 PM — quietSep 22, 2 PM — quietSep 22, 4 PM — quietSep 22, 6 PM — quietSep 22, 8 PM — quietSep 22, 10 PM — quietSep 23, 12 AM — quietSep 23, 2 AM — quietSep 23, 4 AM — quietSep 23, 6 AM — quietSep 23, 8 AM — quietSep 23, 10 AM — quietSep 23, 12 PM — quietSep 23, 2 PM — quietSep 23, 4 PM — quietSep 23, 6 PM — quietSep 23, 8 PM — quietSep 23, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quietToday, 2 AM — quietToday, 4 AM — quietToday, 6 AM — quietToday, 8 AM — quietToday, 10 AM — quietToday, 12 PM — quietToday, 2 PM — quietToday, 4 PM — quiet 12–3
Sep 19Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22Sep 23yesterdaynow · 5:37 PM ET
  1. 3

    Grid operator confirms total system disconnection

    Anadolu Agency reported the power grid operator confirmed a total system disconnection and said restoration protocols remained active amid the ongoing energy crisis.

    1. 12 outlets Cuba Grid Failure Cuts Power to More Than 9 Million People

      first by Rio Times, 6d ago · also CBS News, The Hindu, Reuters, Yahoo News Canada, RedState, France 24 +5

      10 more headlines
    2. 9 outlets Cuba faces another nationwide blackout amid US fuel blockade

      first by Deutsche Welle EN, 6d ago · also France 24 EN, BBC, ABC News, NY Post, Baltimore Sun, Mercury News +2

      5 more headlines
    1 more claim →
    • ManyRoads@mstdn.social

      # Trump making poor 'brown' people suffer needlessly. " # Cuba hit with another nationwide blackout amid US fuel blockade" # MAGA # RAcism # Government # Poverty # News # Politics # Democrats # WW3 # War # UN # EU # China # Russia # Economics # Oligarchy # Fascism https://www. france24.com/en/americas/20260…

      ManyRoads@mstdn.socialMastodon6d ago3▲view on Mastodon ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 9 posts in this stretch

    • Completely ignores how cuba exports doctors because it's been under sanctions from the US so long it had to find other ways to market goods as a country, and one of them was skilled labor of doctors and them sending money back to the country. I don't approve of it, but to say they have been relying on other countries for subsidized oil completely…

      BureMakutter/news6d agoview on r/news ↗
    • TheManilaTimes@mastodon.social

      HAVANA — Cuba’s power grid collapsed once again on Friday, leaving millions of people across the island without electricity for at least the sixth time since U.S. President Donald Trump cut off fuel to the island in January. Read more:

      TheManilaTimes@mastodon.socialMastodon6d ago1▲view on Mastodon ↗
    all of them →
  2. 2

    Fox News reports US Embassy warning amid comms outages

    Fox News reported the entire Cuban electrical grid had collapsed with cellphone and internet outages across the island, noting the U.S. Embassy issued a warning as the blackout continued into the night.

  3. 1

    Ministry activates restoration protocols, partial power returns

    Cuba's Ministry of Energy and Mines announced the outage on X and said it had begun 'activating service-restoration protocols'; by dusk 5% of Havana's roughly 862,000 customers had power back, with 'micro-islands' set up in Camagüey, Pinar del Río and Granma and hospital systems reactivated first.

    “activating service-restoration protocols…”
    — Ministry of Energy and Mines
  4. background

    Cuba's national grid collapses in nationwide blackout — A failure in transmission lines in western Cuba, reportedly worsened by unstable weather, caused the system to collapse as far as Matanzas province, after which the eastern grid was also disconnected, cutting power to millions.

  5. background

    Cuba suffers two nationwide blackouts in early August — Following earlier nationwide outages in March and July, plus several regional blackouts, Cuba recorded two more nationwide collapses in early August as the grid deteriorated.

  6. background

    Trump administration cuts off fuel shipments to Cuba — The U.S. imposed an energy blockade in January aimed at forcing political change in Cuba, preventing the island from importing fuel for thermoelectric plants and parts to maintain aging infrastructure.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 4 outlets Cuba's electrical grid collapses again, plunging island into darkness

    first by Reuters, 6d ago · also Fox News, Independent UK, Straits Times

    2 more headlines

and 1 smaller piece

What people are saying 6 voices from 2 sites · best of 10 · verbatim