Cuba restores grid but power shortfalls continue amid US fuel blockade

Cuba said it had reconnected most of the country to the national grid by late on Tuesday, though millions remained without power as the island nation struggles to generate even one-third of current demand during an ongoing U.S. fuel blockade.



Authorities have yet to fully explain the cause of Monday's nationwide blackout. The country's third blackout this year has left an already exhausted population of nearly 10 million people in the dark overnight.



The country's grid operator UNE said late on Tuesday it had reconnected the grid from Pinar del Rio, in far western Cuba, to Holguin in the east. Santiago de Cuba, the island's second largest city, remained disconnected and without power, authorities said.



About two-thirds of the capital Havana had seen power restored by late Tuesday, though another unexpected widespread outage hit the city around 6 p.m. ET.



Havana residents, now accustomed to blackouts spanning 30 hours or more, had largely resigned themselves to another night of swatting mosquitoes and little sleep.