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Cuba works to restore power after another major nationwide blackout

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Al Jazeera Staff. (2026, September 19). Cuba works to restore power after another major nationwide blackout. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/19/cuba-works-to-restore-power-after-another-major-nationwide-blackout?traffic_source=rss

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Al Jazeera · collected 2026-09-19 · by Al Jazeera Staff

Quick Summary

Cuba is restoring power following a major blackout that affected nearly half of Havana and spread across the entire island. Union Electrica (UNE), Cuba’s state-run electricity company, reported on Saturday that some areas in Havana had power restored but emphasized gradual recovery due to unstable weather conditions and infrastructure issues. The blackout, one of at least six this year, was caused by a failure in high-voltage transmission lines in central Cuba, exacerbated by U.S. sanctions restricting fuel supply.
Written by AI on 2026-09-19, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On Friday, Cuba's power grid collapsed, leaving millions of people across the island without electricity. This was at least the sixth major blackout since January, following previous outages in March, July, and August 2023. The Ministry of Energy and Mines announced the outage on its official X account but did not provide a cause beyond initiating service-restoration protocols.

The frequent power failures are linked to the severe economic crisis exacerbated by the U.S.'s energy blockade, which restricts Cuba’s access to necessary fuel and replacement parts for its aging infrastructure. Even when electricity is available, rolling blackouts still occur daily, with some areas going without power for over 30 consecutive hours.

In Havana, only about 5% of users had power restored by late evening, primarily around hospitals and water pumping stations. Residents are struggling to cope with the ongoing shortages in food, water, and electricity, highlighting the dire situation on the island.

Written for “Cuba Power Grid Collapse Blackouts” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 9 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Cuba Power Grid Collapse Blackouts
World · 10 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans strongly left and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Cuba hit with another blackout as millions across the island are left without electricity Same event
Toronto Star
⚖️ Leans left further right than this Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 64/100
Cuba plunges into total blackout as electrical grid collapses again, US Embassy warns Same event
Fox News
⚖️ Leans left further right than this Hedges 2 of 11 claims Outlet record 68/100
Cuba hit with another blackout as millions across the island are left without electricity Same event
New York Post
⚖️ Leans left further right than this Hedges 2 of 18 claims Outlet record 66/100
Millions without power as Cuba hit by latest major blackout Same event
BBC News
⚖️ Leans left further right than this Hedges 0 of 18 claims Outlet record 66/100
Cuba power grid collapse leaves millions without electricity again Same event
CBS News
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 2 of 27 claims Outlet record 65/100
Cuba once again plunges into complete darkness as blackout hits island Same event
The Independent
⚖️ Leans left further right than this Hedges 2 of 19 claims Outlet record 59/100
Cuba’s power grid collapses as US embargo pressures regime Same event
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans left further right than this Hedges 2 of 17 claims Outlet record 69/100
Cuba hit with another blackout as millions across island are left without electricity Same event
ABC News (US)
⚖️ Leans left further right than this Hedges 0 of 7 claims Outlet record 67/100
Cuba's electrical grid collapses again, plunging island into darkness Same event
The Straits Times
Hedges 0 of 11 claims Outlet record 66/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
15
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 15 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
60/100
Al Jazeera's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
10
World
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-19 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Al Jazeera · 4902 article(s) · 3 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 3 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Al Jazeera Staff
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Topics

Cuba Cuban Havana Reuters UNE

Subjects

Cuba GPE · 5× Cuban NORP · 3× Havana GPE · 3× UNE ORG · 3× Reuters ORG · 2× America GPE · 1× Gaza GPE · 1× Union Electrica ORG · 1× United Nations GPE · 1× the United States GPE · 1×

Narrative

Recommended Stories list of 3 items- list 1 of 3Does the US blockade on Cuba make America safer? - list 2 of 3US pummels Cuban economy with new sanctions on mining, construction - list 3 of 3US continues to squeeze Cuban economy with new round of sanctions “The re-establishing is being done gradually, as conditions permit,” UNE posted on social media.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-19
2026-09-19 · Al Jazeera
Cuba works to restore power after another major nationwide blackout · assertive framing

Claims (15 extracted, 0 hedged)

Cuba has worked to restore power after suffering a significant blackout that left many parts of the country in the dark. asserted
that → work → dark
The state-run company in charge of operating the country’s electrical system, Union Electrica (UNE), said nearly half of its customers in the capital of Havana had regained power on Saturday. asserted
half → run → Saturday
Recommended Stories list of 3 items- list 1 of 3Does the US blockade on Cuba make America safer? - list 2 of 3US pummels Cuban economy with new sanctions on mining, construction - list 3 of 3US continues to squeeze Cuban economy with new round of sanctions “The re-establishing is being done gradually, as conditions permit,” UNE posted on social media. asserted
UNE → make → media
The latest blackout, at least the 12th since late 2024, first affected five of Cuba’s eastern provinces, including Havana, before spreading across the whole island. asserted
blackout → affect → island
Cuban authorities told the Reuters news agency on Friday the collapse was the result of a failure in high-voltage transmission lines in the central part of the country. asserted
collapse → tell → country
UNE said “unstable weather conditions” also played a role. asserted
conditions → say → role
For years, Cuba’s ageing infrastructure and fuel shortages have led to sporadic blackouts. asserted
infrastructure → age → blackouts
But power outages have become more frequent after the United States, in a bid to put political and economic pressure on the country’s government, imposed an energy blockade in January. asserted
States → become → January
United Nations human rights experts have condemned the US oil blockade, calling it a violation of international law and warning that Cuba risks becoming a “silent Gaza” as shortages and blackouts grow ever more critical. asserted
shortages → condemn → law
Some of the island’s residents said they were already out of power when Friday’s blackout happened. asserted
blackout → say → power
“Yesterday, I’d gone without power for 24 hours. asserted
I → go → hours
They turned the lights on for an hour, and then the grid collapsed,” Havana resident Frank Lorenzo, 23, told Reuters. asserted
Lorenzo → turn → Reuters
Others, like Lidia Fernandez, told the news agency AFP that a lack of fuel makes it difficult to power backup generators, which run on imported diesel. asserted
which → tell → diesel
“It’s one thing after another: no water, no gas for cooking, no electricity,” the 36-year-old teacher said. asserted
teacher → ’ → cooking
Fernandez added, “Honestly, I don’t know how we haven’t gone crazy.” asserted
we → add → ?
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