Following three days of nationwide blackouts caused by the collapse of Cuba’s electrical system, power was restored to most of Havana on Monday, after Cuban authorities gave up efforts to restore the entire grid for now and opted to try to hook up individual regions around the country.

The Cuban government has announced emergency measures to slash electricity demand, including suspending classes, shutting down some state-owned workplaces and canceling nonessential services. Officials said that 1.64 gigawatts went offline during peak hours, about half the total demand at the time.

Cubans expressed alarm at the situation and one resident said they felt the country had reached the “bottom of the barrel.”

Many of Cuba’s power plants are outdated and inefficient; some have been in operation for over 50 years without proper maintenance.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.

Millions in Cuba faced another morning without power on Sunday following a third partial grid failure in two days, intensifying a crisis that has left residents struggling with blackouts and shortages. The latest collapse affected the western provinces, including Havana, where the entire capital was plunged into darkness overnight.

Cuba’s government says some electricity has been restored on the island after one of the country’s major power plants failed and left millions without electricity for two days

Electricity outages have paralyzed an already-crippled economy, leading to shortages of everything from cash to running water.

He also recognized that Oscar, which hit the island's eastern coast Sunday evening, will bring "an additional inconvenience" to Cuba's recovery since it will touch a "region of strong (electricity) generation.