A major power plant fails in Cuba, plunging the island into darkness — again

HAVANA (AP) — A new, widespread power outage plunged Cuba into darkness on Wednesday after one of the island’s major power plants failed, leaving millions without electricity and forcing authorities to suspend classes and work activities indefinitely.

The Electric Union, the state-run power company, attributed the incident to the shutdown of the Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Plant in Matanzas province, east of Havana. The blackout, which occurred shortly after 2 a.m., affected the entire nation, the company said on X. As of Wednesday morning, power began to be restored gradually in some parts of the country, including Havana.

Cuba’s Minister of Energy and Mines Vicente de la O said later in a televised address that service would be fully restored by today. On October 18, the island suffered a significant blackout that, added to the passage of Hurricane Oscar two days later, left the island without electricity for several days. Weeks later, Hurricane Rafael’s strong winds triggered another system-wide blackout that left the national energy system disconnected again.