Cuba's efforts to restore power to the island were derailed for a third time late on Saturday, Cuban authorities said shortly before midnight, leaving millions in the dark and raising fresh questions over the viability of the government's bid to reestablish electrical service.

Cuba’s electrical grid went offline after one of the island’s major power plant failed, the energy ministry said.

Cuba’s electrical grid shut down on Friday, putting the country into a blackout after the failure of one of the island’s major power plants, according to its energy ministry.

The electrical grid is so fragile that when Hurricane Ian went over the western tip of the island in September 2022 it took out the country’s entire electrical system, plunging Cuba into darkness for days.

Cuba was struggling to restore electricity nationwide on Saturday, more than 24 hours after the failure of one of its largest power plants knocked the entire grid off-line.

Many Cubans are waiting in anguish as electricity on much of the island has yet to be totally restored after days of blackout

Many of Cuba’s power plants are outdated and inefficient; some have been in operation for over 50 years without proper maintenance. After the country’s grid collapsed when hurricane Ian hit in 2022, experts warned the government needed to urgently invest in modernizing the system.

A massive outage left millions of Cubans without power and prompted the government Friday to implement emergency measures to slash demand, including suspending classes, shutting down some state-owned workplaces and canceling non-essential services.

A growing energy crisis reached a crescendo Friday, as the country’s main power plant suddenly shut down, cutting off electricity to millions of Cubans.

Cuba's efforts to restore power to the island were derailed for a third time late on Saturday, Cuban authorities said shortly before midnight, leaving millions in the dark and raising fresh questions over the viability of the government's bid to reestablish electrical service.