Cuba’s national electrical grid collapsed again on Monday, marking a fresh setback in the country’s deepening energy crisis. The second collapse in less than a day underscored the fragility of Cuba’s power system, which has become a potent symbol of the island’s broader economic woes.

Cause of Collapse

A fluctuation caused the collapse, according to state television journalist Lazaro Manuel Alonso. The UNE power utility later said adverse weather conditions affected the transmission network during restoration efforts, directly impacting generating units that had already returned to service.

By early evening, authorities reported some progress, saying four generating units at Energas Jaruco were operating and several transmission substations around Havana had been re-energized. The latest outage comes after three nationwide grid failures over a nine-day period in July and another collapse late Sunday.

Economic Impact

Repeated blackouts have disrupted homes, businesses, and public services across the Caribbean island of roughly 10 million people, adding to pressure on a government already battling shortages of food, fuel, and medicine and a years-long economic downturn.

The electricity crisis has also taken on a diplomatic dimension. Cuba blames decades of U.S. sanctions and trade restrictions for limiting access to fuel, financing, and spare parts needed to maintain its power system, while Washington says the outages reflect failures of the country’s state-run economic model.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.