Widespread blackout in Cuba after national electric grid goes offline

Cuba's national electric grid went offline on Friday, officials said, resulting in a country-wide blackout.

The national electrical system of Cuba suffered a total disconnection at 11 a.m. local time after the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant failed, the Cuban Ministry of Energy and Mines said. The cause is being investigated, it said.

Restoration efforts are underway, the ministry said.

"There is no time defined for total restoration, but it is worked to connect the electrical system as soon as possible," Lazaro Guerra, the director of electricity for the Ministry of Energy and Mines, said.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermúdez said on X that there will be "no rest" until power is restored.

"We are devoting absolute priority to addressing and solving this highly sensitive energy contingency," he said.

Officials have canceled non-essential government services, and schools are closed through Sunday, Reuters reported.

Cuba was already experiencing what officials on Thursday called an "energy emergency situation," resulting in outages, before the country-wide blackout.

The island country is home to approximately 10 million people.