Power was restored in the western and eastern central regions of Cuba on Tuesday (March 17) as some power plants reconnected to the grid, Cuba's grid operator UNE said on social media.

Cuba's national electric grid had collapsed on Monday (March 16), leaving about 10 million people without power amid a U.S.-imposed oil blockade that has crippled the island's already obsolete generation system.

UNE said that the Diez de Octubre and Carlos Manuel de Cespedes power stations were back online, adding that the western and eastern central systems had been reconnected to the island's grid.

"We have already established a connection from Pinar del Rio to Holguin province," Lazaro Guerra, Director General of Electricity at Cuba's Ministry of Energy and Mines, said on Cuban state television.

Residents in Havana shared their struggles during the outage.

"The power hasn’t come back on at my house, and we’ve been without electricity for about 12 hours," said Juana Perez. Another resident, Carlos Montes de Oca, highlighted how the situation disrupted daily life, including water access and cooking, leaving many idling while awaiting restoration.

The United States has ratcheted up pressure this year on long-time foe Cuba since capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro - Cuba's most important foreign benefactor - in January.

U.S. President Donald Trump cut off Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba and threatened to slap tariffs on any country that sells oil to Cuba, strangling the Caribbean island's already antiquated grid.

Trump also escalated his rhetoric against Cuba on Monday, saying he expected to have the "honour" of "taking Cuba in some form" and that "I can do anything I want" with the neighbouring country.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

HAVANA, CUBA (MARCH 17, 2026) (REUTERS – Access all)

1. BUILDINGS IN THE CITY AT DAWN WITHOUT ELECTRICITY

2. STATUE OF THE CUBAN INDEPENDENCE FIGHTER, ANTONIO MACEO

3. VARIOUS OF TRAFFIC AND PEOPLE ON A STREET IN DOWNTOWN

4. TRAFFIC LIGHT WITHOUT POWER

5. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RESIDENT, JUANA PEREZ, SAYING:

"The power hasn’t come back on at my house, and we’ve been without electricity for about 12 hours. And well, I plan to face the day as usual, just as all Cubans do, with great joy, because this is ours, this is our country, and we are proud of our country despite the difficulties, because we know the blockade exists.”

6. HERMANOS AMEJEIRAS HOSPITAL BUILDING WITH POWER AT DAWN

7. SOME STREET LIGHTS LIT ALONG MALECON AVENUE

8. PEOPLE WAITING FOR TAXIS

9. AVENUE WITH TRAFFIC

HAVANA, CUBA (MARCH 17, 2026) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV – Access all)

10. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DIRECTOR GENERAL OF ELECTRICITY OF THE MINISTRY OF ENERGY AND MINES OF CUBA, LAZARO GUERRA, SAYING:

“We have already established a connection from Pinar del Rio to Holguin province. We now have a connection via the 220,000-volt grid in a significant part of the system, as well as via the 110,000-volt grid. This indicates that progress has been made in restoring the system, and we now even have power at the Felton substation to finish what we’re doing at the unit so we can continue our work.”

HAVANA, CUBA (MARCH 17, 2026) (REUTERS – Access all)

11. PEOPLE WALKING DOWN A STREET IN DOWNTOWN HAVANA

12. PEOPLE CHATTING AT THE ENTRANCE TO A BUILDING

13. PEOPLE WALKING

14. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RESIDENT, CARLOS MONTES DE OCA, SAYING:

“It affects practically everything. When it comes to cooking, you have to cook earlier because once night falls, well, you can imagine. The water -- you can’t use the pump to get water up to the roof. There are so many things; it generally affects everything, almost 100% of life. So, what are you supposed to do? Sit down, wait, start reading a book, disconnect because the stress gets to you, and how does that make you feel? It makes you feel bad; you could have a heart attack. No, no, but stay calm, you have to take things as they come until we see how long this is going to last. Until when.”

15. CITY COASTLINE

16. WAVE CRASHING AGAINST THE MALECON WALL WITH A BUSY AVENUE IN THE BACKGROUND

17. MALECON AVENUE BY THE SEA