STORY: Cubans were left reliant upon torchlight on Friday (July 10) as night fell during the second total nationwide electrical outage this week.

The national electrical grid collapsed earlier in the day, the fourth time this year as a U.S.-imposed oil blockade has crippled the island's already obsolete generation system.

“When the SEN (National Electric Power System) goes down, there’s no other choice, you sit on the sidewalk and wait,” said Havana resident, Juan Carlos.

He said residents can’t rely upon generators either as gas prices are unaffordable.

The collapse followed a prior nationwide outage on Monday (July 6). While authorities had managed to reconnect most of the island's grid by late Tuesday (July 7), large swathes of the country, including Santiago de Cuba, remained disconnected due to severe fuel shortages.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: HAVANA, CUBA (JULY 10, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all) (NIGHT SHOTS)

1. SUNSET OVER HAVANA’S SKYLINE DURING POWER GRID COLLAPSE

2. VARIOUS OF TRAFFIC AND PEOPLE WALKING DOWN THE STREET DURING BLACKOUT

3. STREET VENDORS CHATTING

4. PEOPLE OUTSIDE A COFFEE SHOP

5. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HAVANA RESIDENT, JUAN CARLOS, SAYING:

“When the SEN (National Electric Power System) goes down, there’s no other choice, you sit on the sidewalk and wait, you start to feel sleepy, and you head to the floor or to bed, wherever you want, and you lie down to sleep because you have no other option, here there’s no other way it’s not like you have a (generator), because even if you did, you wouldn’t have gas, since I can’t afford the price of gas either, you know what I mean? So it’s just one thing after another. The solution? I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t even know how to answer that.”

6. VARIOUS OF HAVANA RESIDENT, LEOSDAN SANCHEZ, REARRANGING THINGS INSIDE HIS HOME, USING A RECHARGEABLE LAMP FOR LIGHT

7. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HAVANA RESIDENT, LEOSDAN SANCHEZ, SAYING:

“For us, at least, for me, it’s very difficult, because the blackouts happen at inconvenient times. We face problems with food; we have to cook meals for the day, and we can’t store anything because if we do, it goes bad. And we can’t complain to anyone, because there’s no one who can see this clearly.”

8. WOMAN WALKING WITH AN UMBRELLA IN THE RAIN, USING HER CELL PHONE AS A FLASHLIGHT

9. FRUIT VENDOR PUSHING A HANDCART LOADED WITH FRUIT DOWN THE STREET

10. BUILDINGS AND STREET DURING A BLACKOUT