CUBAN authorities have managed to restore the country’s national power grid after the third full blackout during March, it was reported on Sunday.

Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy confirmed the restoration of the grid had been achieved in a social media post on Sunday evening.

The third major grid collapse in March has been triggered by the impact of the decades old United States illegal blockade of the island which worsened after US President Donald Trump warned that he would slap hefty tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba.

The illegal and unprovoked attack on Venezuela, during which 100 people were killed and President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Celia Flores kidnapped by the US, also halted critical petroleum shipments to the Caribbean island.

Officials described the restoration process after the collapse of the grid as “slow and laborious,” typically starting with solar, hydroelectric and distributed diesel generators to power small areas that are gradually interconnected to help restart the larger thermal plants.

Meanwhile, Cuba is pressing ahead with the installation of 2,600 photovoltaic solar systems in strategic centres across all 168 municipalities to shield hospitals and other essential facilities from future outages.