“The fuel shortage is the biggest factor,” he said.
National Electric Union (UNE) head Alfredo López Valdés also acknowledged that the island was facing a challenging energy situation, with shortages being the main cause.
Cuba is facing a nationwide blackout after its main power plant failed, leaving its 10 million residents without electricity.
The power grid collapsed around 11:00 a.m. (15:00 GMT) on Friday, the energy ministry announced on social media.
Electricity officials said they did not know how long it would take to restore power.
The island has suffered months of prolonged power outages, prompting the prime minister to declare an “energy emergency” on Thursday.
Friday’s total blackout came after the Antonio Guiteras power plant in Matanzas, the island’s largest, went offline.
President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez said the situation was his “absolute priority.”
“There will be no rest until the power is restored,” he wrote on X.
The head of the Energy Ministry’s electricity supply, Lazara Guerra, was later quoted by AFP as saying that the process of restoring power was still in its early stages.
There was, she added, “a certain level of electricity generation” that would be used to restart power plants in several regions of the country.
Earlier on Friday, officials announced that all schools and non-essential activities, including nightclubs, would be closed until Monday.
Non-essential workers were ordered to stay home to ensure the electricity supply, and non-essential government services were suspended.
Cubans have also been urged to turn off high-consumption appliances such as refrigerators and ovens during peak hours, according to local media.
“This is crazy,” Eloy Fon, an 80-year-old retiree who lives in central Havana, told AFP.
“It shows the fragility of our electricity system… We have no reserves, there is nothing to sustain the country, we live from day to day.”
Bárbara López, 47, a digital content creator, said she had “barely been able to work for two days.”
“It’s the worst I’ve seen in 47 years,” she said. “They’ve really screwed it up now… We have no power or mobile data.”
Prime Minister Manuel Marrero addressed the public in a televised message on Thursday, blaming deteriorating infrastructure, fuel shortages and rising demand for the power outages.
“The fuel shortage is the biggest factor,” he said.
National Electric Union (UNE) head Alfredo López Valdés also acknowledged that the island was facing a challenging energy situation, with shortages being the main cause.
Extended power outages—especially such widespread ones—are always a tense time in Cuba.
Partly because the ability to keep the lights on is a potential public order problem for the Cuban government.
In July 2021, thousands of protesters took to the streets in demonstrations sparked by days of power outages across much of the country.
The desperation caused by precious food wasted in warm refrigerators and freezers was compounded by citizens going days without air conditioning or ceiling fans in the island’s stifling heat.
Electric pumps bring water to the taps in many buildings, so no power meant no water.
In addition, no gas at the pumps meant people couldn’t work or use their cars to fix basic problems or meet urgent needs.
The Cuban government is increasingly aware that many people on the island have become a little afraid to speak out about the many daily problems they face.
Some are even prepared to take to the streets and chant anti-government slogans, if circumstances warrant it.
In March, hundreds of people in Cuba’s second-largest city, Santiago.