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Cuba remains plunged in darkness for a third consecutive day following an island-wide power outage that began due to a failure at the Antonio Guiteras power station in Matanzas. This crisis is exacerbated by the approach of Hurricane Oscar, which is set to hit the island's eastern provinces including Holguín and Guantánamo, bringing heavy rain and winds up to 80 mph.

The power outage, which started Friday morning, has left state-run Electric Union struggling to reconnect the island’s thermoelectric plants. Efforts to restore power were further thwarted on Saturday night with another outage, leading to the grim realization that full restoration might not be imminent. The Energy Ministry reported an outage impacting the Santa Cruz del Norte plant near Havana and later efforts to restore electricity to a “microsystem” in western Cuba failed as well.

Cuban authorities have announced the suspension of nonessential activities and classes from Monday to Wednesday. This decision comes amid fears of how to effectively warn citizens, especially in remote areas, about the approaching hurricane without electricity.

The aging infrastructure of Cuba's electrical system is a major stumbling block. Many of the island's power plants and generators, some over 50 years old, have been poorly maintained due to financial constraints. Despite previous investments, such as the purchase of diesel generators under the late Fidel Castro, these backup systems have become unreliable. According to the Energy Minister, Vicente de la O Levy, these generators were non-operational during the recent grid collapse due to fuel shortages.

The nation’s dependency on foreign oil has compound the problem. Venezuela significantly reduced its oil shipments to the island last year, and sporadic Russian oil imports have failed to meet the domestic demand of 120,000 barrels of oil per day. Lázaro Guerra, a senior official at the Electric Union, disclosed that even with backup generators and a rented floating power station, they were producing only about 700 megawatts—far short of the needed 3,000 megawatts.

Protests erupted Saturday night as residents of Havana, frustrated by over 30 hours without electricity, took to the streets banging pots and pans. The situation is particularly dire as food stored in powerless refrigerators begins to spoil, and residents scramble to buy essential supplies like liquefied gas.

The current power crisis comes on the heels of an economic recession that the island has been grappling with since 2019. Basic necessities such as food and medicine are scarce, and the government’s ability to provide essential services has dwindled. Amid this, Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel has placed blame on the longstanding U.S. embargo for hamstringing the nation’s ability to procure oil and repair critical infrastructure. Critics, however, question the whereabouts of a $1.3 billion Russian loan intended for the construction of new power units back in 2015.