HAVANA, 16th March, 2025 (WAM) -- Cuba's capital Havana plunged into darkness for a second night on Saturday as efforts to restore power proceeded in fits and starts, with setbacks slowing progress and leaving several million still without electricity across the island.
Cuba's grid collapsed on Friday evening after a transmission line at a substation in Havana shorted, beginning a chain reaction that completely shut down power generation across the island, officials said.
The grid operator focused early efforts on ensuring electricity for vital services including hospitals, water supply and food production centres.
Lazaro Guerra, the country's top electricity official, said on the evening newscast he hoped both power plants would come online overnight, but warned progress would be necessarily slow to avoid further setbacks.
