Cuba's UNE recorded a peak deficit of 1,732 MW in April 2026. After the Cienfuegos refinery restarted on Russian crude, the deficit dropped to 1,395 MW. Havana got power for four days while eastern provinces remained on 24-hour blackouts.Source: event

Why does Havana have electricity when the rest of Cuba does not?

UNE manages rolling blackouts by priority; Havana is given precedence for political stability reasons. Eastern provinces like Holguín absorb the longest outages. In April 2026, Havana was restored for four days while the east remained on 24-hour cuts.Source: event

What is the UNE electricity forecast for Cuba?

UNE publishes a daily generation forecast listing how many megawatts of demand will go unmet. Provincial authorities use it to schedule rolling blackouts. The April 2026 forecast showed a 1,395 MW deficit after the Cienfuegos refinery restarted.Source: event

Background

UNE (Unión Eléctrica Nacional) is Cuba's state-owned national electricity company, responsible for generation, transmission, and distribution across the island. UNE operates a fleet of ageing thermal power stations, a small hydro capacity, and a growing diesel-generation sector. The organisation publishes a daily generation forecast that has become a closely watched public indicator of Cuba's energy crisis: the forecast lists how many megawatts of demand will go unmet and is used by provincial authorities to schedule rolling blackouts.

In April 2026 UNE recorded a peak deficit of 1,732 MW when the Camilo Cienfuegos refinery was offline; its restart cut the deficit to 1,395 MW. On 14 May the National Grid (SEN) fragmented, severing Granma, Santiago de Cuba, and Guantánamo from central dispatch. By 3 June the compound collapse overtook UNE's deficit as the primary story: gas, water, and electricity all failed simultaneously in Havana. The OFAC designation of CUPET on 11 June under EO 14404 sanctioned the entity that licenses all fuel imports UNE's thermal plants depend on, structurally deepening UNE's generation deficit with no near-term resupply route.

On 21 June 2026 UNE reported 64% of national territory without power simultaneously at peak, the most severe multi-province outage since March, with the deficit reaching 2,100 MW against 3,200 MW of demand and 106 distributed-generation centres idle for lack of fuel .

More questions

Why are there power cuts in Cuba every day?

Cuba's grid operator UNE runs a structural deficit of over 1,000 MW because its ageing Soviet-era thermal power stations depend on oil Cuba cannot import reliably. US sanctions under EO 14380 and EO 14404 cut off Venezuelan and Russian crude routes. UNE publishes a daily forecast showing the unmet demand that drives rolling blackouts across the island.Source: background

How bad are the blackouts in Cuba in 2026?

Daily outages range from around four hours in Havana to over twenty hours in eastern provinces. In May 2026 the National Grid fragmented along a 14 May central-dispatch failure that severed the four easternmost provinces entirely. Bloomberg satellite analysis confirmed a 50% drop in Cuban nighttime light during this period.Source: cuba-dispatch U4

What effect does the CUPET sanction have on Cuba's electricity supply?

CUPET, Cuba's state oil company, was designated under EO 14404 on 11 June 2026. Because CUPET controls all Cuban oil import licences, ports, and customs, the designation structurally cuts off the fuel supply that UNE's thermal power stations need to run, deepening the generation deficit with no near-term legal resupply pathway.Source: cuba-dispatch U7

Source Material

Unión Eléctrica de Cuba

How the World Sees Them

Cuba

UNE's daily forecast has become a form of state transparency by necessity; the government cannot hide shortages that are visible to every household.

United States

UNE's published deficit figures are cited in US policy debates as evidence that fuel sanctions are producing measurable pressure on the Cuban state.

Eastern provinces

Rural and eastern communities consistently absorb the longest blackout windows; Havana is prioritised for political stability reasons.