Cuba plunged into 3rd nationwide blackout in 2 weeks as fuel runs low

HAVANA — Cuba suffered another blackout of the National Electric System, or SEN, on Tuesday, leaving the entire country without power, officials said.

It was the third such incident in two weeks as a U.S. oil embargo stresses the island’s grid.

Fuel has been running out across Cuba since January, when U.S.

President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to the island, deepening the island’s ongoing economic and financial crisis.

Public transportation has largely been halted, and officials have canceled tens of thousands of surgeries.

Cuba produces only 40 percent of the fuel it needs.

A solution for fuel imports is not yet in sight.

The state-owned Electric Union reported that a problem with a generating unit in the eastern province of Holguín caused “a sudden frequency change,” resulting in the SEN blackout around midday.

Both the Ministry of Energy and Mines and the Electric Union indicated that “protocols for its restoration have been activated,” meaning that “micro-islands” are being established and then interconnected to provide ...