At 6 a.m. in Havana on September 27, Cuba’s national grid had 1,240 megawatts available against demand of 2,750 megawatts, the Ministry of Energy and Mines reported. The gap stood at 1,500 megawatts, following a Saturday-night peak deficit of 2,044 megawatts. The figures show the strain on households as Cuba pursues economic reforms while fuel supplies, foreign investment and basic services remain constrained.
Power Shortfall
Cuba’s largest generating unit returned to service. The Antonio Guiteras plant came back online on September 27 after boiler repairs. On September 18, the national grid shut down completely—the eighth nationwide blackout of 2026, according to a ministry statement reported by Martí Noticias. OnCuba blamed aging plants, frequent breakdowns and fuel-supply problems, including limited domestic oil output and what it called a US blockade on imports since January.
US oil and fuel exports to Cuba climbed to 778,000 barrels in June, up from 476,000 in May, according to US data. June’s total worked out to about 26,000 barrels a day, compared with 1,000 barrels for all of January, the Energy Information Administration reported. Solar parks hit a midday peak of 626 megawatts on September 26.
The crisis extends well beyond power generation. The Associated Press reported that two-thirds of Cuba had no electricity at night for months. In some Havana neighborhoods, residents had gone more than two weeks without running water; transportation was scarce, and eggs, bread and cooking oil were difficult to find.
Reforms Under Sanctions
Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga, Cuba’s foreign trade and deputy prime minister, said the US trade embargo was the biggest obstacle to carrying out the country’s free-market reforms. Cuba unveiled the reforms in June under increased pressure from the Trump administration, including renewed sanctions. Perez-Oliva said full implementation would mark the biggest change to the island’s socialist economy since Fidel Castro took control in 1959.
“What prevents this possibility is the existence of the trade embargo,” Perez-Oliva told Reuters, discussing US companies investing or trading in Cuba. He said Washington must ease sanctions for further progress. The oil blockade imposed in January all but wiped out imports from Mexico, Venezuela and other former top fuel suppliers. Washington has said Cuba’s reforms don’t go far enough and called for “free and fair” elections.
Perez-Oliva denied that Cuban officials had met representatives of businesses linked to US President Donald Trump. “I have no knowledge of any company directly linked to President Trump having made contact with Cuba,” he said. Trump associates visited Cuba in 2016 and met top tourism officials to discuss business opportunities, according to meeting minutes Reuters reviewed.
Perez-Oliva said US policies had tilted some sectors toward US investors while international companies—whom he described as Cuba’s traditional partners—were being urged to halt commercial relations. He criticized a State Department policy that allows US companies to export fuel to Cuba’s private sector, saying it was “aimed at forcing Cuba’s economic dependence.” He added: “We will never again be a colony of any country.”
Sanctions have also hit mining investment. Canada’s Sherritt International suspended direct participation in a nickel and cobalt mining joint venture with the Cuban government after a Trump administration executive order in May threatened sanctions on mining-related businesses. Australia’s Antilles Gold was weighing its next move. Perez-Oliva said neither company had withdrawn and that both were evaluating alternatives.
Cash, Culture and Foreign Funding
Cuba’s cash shortage has brought another daily constraint. The central bank said some people had sold scarce cash for fees of 30% to 50%; staff at state banks BPA and Bandec were among those detained in Santiago de Cuba, according to the pro-government Facebook page Héroes del Moncada. Officials haven’t named the detainees or published their precise charges and the value of the seized cash. They’re presumed innocent unless a court rules otherwise.
In a September 28 statement, the bank demanded “zero tolerance” for corruption and said there would be “no room for complicity, cover-up or impunity.” It called for more audits and tighter internal controls. The central bank blamed problems in the sector on “the economic crisis and the tightening of the blockade.” One reader commenting on the bank’s Facebook post wrote: “If there were money in the bank and cash machines, nobody would profit from trading cash for a percentage.”
A separate project points to foreign financing amid the shortages. Builders fenced off a site in Old Havana for the King Salman Mosque, whose budget is about US$9.3 million from the Saudi Fund for Development, according to official sources cited by 14ymedio. Plans include prayer halls for about 500 people, a public library, a dining hall, gardens and community rooms. The Office of the Historian of Havana manages the Saudi money as investor; Restaura, its conservation arm, designed the complex. No construction timetable or completion date has been made public, and 14ymedio said foundations hadn’t been laid.
The crisis reaches education and cultural life, too. About 178 students gathered each morning at the National Ballet School in Havana for dance training and classes in mathematics, Spanish, history and science. Dani Hernández, a principal dancer who directs the school, said blackouts, heat and mosquitoes had forced him to sleep on his building’s terrace. He said the crisis could affect future generations in ballet and other fields, including engineering, medicine and education.