Many Cubans waited in anguish late Sunday as electricity on much of the island had yet to be restored days after an island-wide blackout. Their concerns were heightened as Hurricane Oscar slammed into Cuba’s eastern coast,

Cuba suffered an island-wide blackout Friday after one of its main power plants failed, the country’s energy ministry said.

Many of Cuba’s power plants are outdated and inefficient; some have been in operation for over 50 years without proper maintenance. After the country’s grid collapsed when hurricane Ian hit in 2022, experts warned the government needed to urgently invest in modernizing the system.

Many Cubans are waiting in anguish as electricity on much of the island has yet to be totally restored after days of blackout

A massive outage left millions of Cubans without power and prompted the government Friday to implement emergency measures to slash demand, including suspending classes, shutting down some state-owned workplaces and canceling non-essential services.

A growing energy crisis reached a crescendo Friday, as the country’s main power plant suddenly shut down, cutting off electricity to millions of Cubans.

Cuba's efforts to restore power to the island were derailed for a third time late on Saturday, Cuban authorities said shortly before midnight, leaving millions in the dark and raising fresh questions over the viability of the government's bid to reestablish electrical service.

After electricity was partially restored in Cuba following an island-wide blackout, the electrical grid collapsed a second time, causing widespread alarm. Journalist Ed Augustin told NBC News that while power is gradually being restored in some areas,

Cuba was struggling to restore electricity nationwide on Saturday, more than 24 hours after the failure of one of its largest power plants knocked the entire grid off-line.