An electric tricycle transports customers during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, March 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
HAVANA, Cuba (AP) — Cuba’s power grid collapsed again on Saturday leaving the country without electricity for a third time in March as deepening energy and economic crises continue to strain a crumbling power grid.
The Cuban Electric Union said the blackout was caused by a failure of a generating unit at the Nuevitas thermoelectric plant in Camagüey province.
It was the second blackout in the past week and the third this month. Cuba has blamed the crisis partly on a U.S. energy blockade.
This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
A vendor lights her way with a battery-powered lamp while waiting for customers on the Malecón during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, March 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)Children look at their phones while sitting on the Malecón wall during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, March 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)People walk on a street during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, March 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)People walk on a street during a blackout in Havana, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)People play dominoes outside during a blackout in Havana, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)A bread vendor holds a cell phone up to his ear during irregular connectivity due to a blackout in Havana, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)A motorcyclist transports a customer with a television in a box during a blackout in Havana, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)People watch the sunset from the Malecón during a blackout in Havana, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)A man charges his phone and his fan with a solar panel during a blackout in Havana, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)A man enters his building during a blackout in Havana, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)A man finishes putting fuel in his car’s tank, located in the back of the car, during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)Hairdressers style the hair of their clients in the open air during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)Street vendors chat during a blackout in Havana, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)Street vendors chat on the Malecón during a blackout in Havana, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)A woman receives a donation from Mexico at a state-run bodega during a blackout in Havana, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)A man gives a girl a spoonful of soup on a street during a blackout in Havana, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)People are seen waiting in a car in the dark during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, March 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
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