What happened

Cuba's National Electric System disconnected completely at about 10:43 p.m. on Sunday 2 August, causing the sixth islandwide blackout reported in 2026. The initial cause was not identified in the utility's first announcement. Crews began rebuilding the grid through local microsystems, and two units at the gas-fired Energas plant at Boca de Jaruco synchronized early on 3 August; about 23% of Havana had power by Monday morning. Later that day, an electrical oscillation caused the recovering grid to collapse again. State reporting said restoration then resumed, with four Boca de Jaruco units operating and transmission substations around Havana re-energized by early evening. The event followed three nationwide failures within nine days in July. Reporting linked the grid's extreme fragility to fuel shortages, aging equipment and chronic underinvestment; Cuban authorities attribute the fuel crisis in large part to United States restrictions, while Washington blames state economic mismanagement. Boca de Jaruco is the map marker because it anchored restoration, not because it was established as the source of the initial failure.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.