VIDEO SHOWS: STREET AT DUSK / PEOPLE OUTSIDE THEIR HOMES / SOUNDBITES FROM LOCAL RESIDENTS AND DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL LOAD DESPATCH OF CUBA'S ELECTRIC UNION / TIMELAPSE OF SUN SETTING AS CITY GOES DARK

STORY: Cuba's national electrical grid collapsed again on Monday (August 3) as authorities struggled to restore power following a nationwide blackout late Sunday, state-run media reported, 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 as fuel shortages, aging infrastructure and chronic underinvestment leave millions vulnerable to increasingly frequent blackouts. State television journalist Lazaro Manuel Alonso said a new disconnection of the National Electric System, or SEN, occurred on Monday afternoon despite progress made earlier in restoring service. 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. 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. (Camera: Mario Fuentes, Alien Fernandez; Editing, Production: Alien Fernandez, Anna Portella; Writing: Ayose Naranjo

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: HAVANA, CUBA (AUGUST 3, 2026) (REUTERS - Access All)

1. STREET AT DUSK

2. MAN ENTERING HARDWARE STORE

3. CLOSE-UP OF HARDWARE PRODUCTS

4. PEOPLE CHATTING OUTSIDE THEIR HOMES

5. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HAVANA RESIDENT, REINIER PEREZ, SAYING:

"The problem with the National Electrical System has become something normal here in the country because it goes down every day. We are living with an hour and a half, three hours, four hours of electricity, then 24, 36, 40 hours without power here in the capital — which is unheard of anywhere else in the world. And the people are not asking for much — all people are asking for is a little clarity, give us electricity so that our food doesn't spoil."

6. DARK STREET

7. MEN TALKING IN MIDDLE OF DARK STREET

8. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HAVANA RESIDENT, CESAR ROBINSON, SAYING:

"How do you think a person can live without water, without electricity, without anything — look over there, look all around Havana. The only ones celebrating are those having a birthday, beyond that nobody in Havana is happy, everyone is fed up. Look, how do you think anyone can live like this — you just got home from work, go and cook something for your kids, see if you can. The kids have to go to bed without eating until tomorrow."

9. DARK STREET

10. VEHICLES DRIVING THROUGH DARK STREET

HAVANA, CUBA (AUGUST 3, 2026) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV - Access All)

11. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL LOAD DESPATCH OF CUBA'S ELECTRIC UNION, FELIX ESTRADA, SAYING:

"A meteorological event occurred at the end of the afternoon, around 5:05 p.m., and we experienced its influence on the system's transmission — these meteorological events affect the system's parameters, and the operating units went offline. At that moment the Jaruco unit, which forms the western grid of the country, and a unit in Santa Cruz went out of service due to the weather conditions in the western region, and we had a total collapse of the micro-system, which extended from Pinar del Río to Cienfuegos. From that point, restoration protocols were implemented and we now have power again — at this moment we have electricity restored at the Guanabacoa substations and the Diezmero substations through the Boca de Jaruco units, which is the normal restoration process for the system."

HAVANA, CUBA (AUGUST 3, 2026) (REUTERS - Access All)

12. DARK STREET

13. PEOPLE IN THEIR HOMES DURING BLACKOUT

14. (MUTE) TIMELAPSE OF SUNSET AS CITY GOES DARK AMID BLACKOUT