CUBAN authorities worked around the clock to restore pockets of electricity back to the country today.

This comes after millions of people were left without power on Saturday after a failure of the nation’s electric grid left the island in the dark the previous night.

The massive blackout is the fourth in the last six months as the illegal United States blockade against the Caribbean country bites hard. 

The latest was the first of 2025 but in mid-February authorities suspended classes and work activities for two days due to a shortage of electricity generation that exceeded 50 per cent in the country.

The Ministry of Energy and Mines, in a statement on social media, said that the latest outage was due to a failure at a substation in the suburbs of Havana, the capital.

Havana’s electric company said on social media that about 20 per cent of its clients in the city had so far had power restored.

Cuba’s Energy and Mines Ministry said early on Sunday that it had fired up its Felton power plant, one of the nation’s largest, in an attempt to restore power to the eastern provinces. 

The country’s largest plant, Antonio Guinteras, in Matanzas, had not yet been brought back online, the ministry said.

Lazaro Guerra, director of electricity at the ministry, said on national television that power was already being generated to support vital services such as hospitals.

Cuba blames the mounting energy crisis on the illegal US blockade of the country and fresh restrictions from US President Donald Trump, who recently restored the Caribbean island to a list of alleged state sponsors of terrorism.

The move by the US makes it almost impossible for the Cubans to purchase basic parts to maintain its antiquated energy infrastructure.

The Cuban government is working with China to develop large solar farms in a bid to reduce dependence on its existing oil-fired system.