A power outage abruptly took the National Television News of Cuba (NTV) off the air on Monday, September 7, when the broadcast was unexpectedly cut and replaced by propaganda content for several minutes. This incident was reported by independent journalist Magdiel Jorge Castro through a video posted on X.
Reports from individuals near the scene indicated that the disruption was caused by the explosion of an electrical transformer close to the television studios.
Before the broadcast was interrupted, the presenter was heard discussing the 34th edition of the International Book Fair in Holguín and a piece on the educational process in Guantánamo.
"Another blackout takes the regime's TV news off the air... the signal switched to communist propaganda for several minutes. Reports from the area indicate a transformer exploded near the TV studios," Castro noted when sharing the video.
This incident occurred on one of the most challenging days in September for the electricity service. On that Monday, the National Electric System reported a mere 1,160 MW available at 6:00 am against a demand of 2,790 MW, with 1,630 MW already affected since early morning. During peak hours, the Electric Union projected an impact of 2,220 MW, which eventually reached 2,120 MW by 8:40 pm.
It's not the first time NTV has faced such interruptions in 2026. On August 30, an electrical fault at the central studios forced a broadcaster to apologize on air: "Greetings, unfortunately, there was an electrical failure at the central studios of Cuban television," she announced.
Earlier in June, the news program suffered a 15-minute interruption during a live broadcast. Univision journalist Daniel Benítez described how NTV had to fill the broadcast gap with musical segments and news briefs. In July, the crisis also left the entire province of Matanzas without radio and television signals.
In Havana, an average of 25 electrical transformers are damaged daily, with some days seeing more than 60 equipment failures. Of 1,500 transformers analyzed, 755 were found to be operating overloaded. Explosions of distribution equipment have become a common occurrence throughout the Island.
Voices from within the state media apparatus have broken their silence. Jeannette Juaristi Torres, a director associated with ICRT and Canal Habana, went viral with a post rejecting the embargo as the main cause of the crisis: "We are dying alive, without dreams, without hope," she wrote, adding, "Not everything is the blockade's fault, and they know it."
The Electric Union has predicted that blackouts will persist without a solution in sight until December 2026, forecasting more disruptions for a state television network that can no longer ensure electricity for its broadcasts.
Key Questions About the Cuban Electricity Crisis
What caused the interruption of the Cuban TV news broadcast on September 7?
The interruption was caused by a power outage resulting from the explosion of an electrical transformer near the television studios.
How did the Cuban state media respond to the blackout incident?
In response to the blackout, the broadcast was replaced by propaganda content, and there have been previous incidents where apologies were issued or musical segments were used to fill the gaps.
Are power outages a common issue in Cuba?
Yes, power outages are frequent in Cuba, with numerous electrical transformers failing daily, leading to regular disruptions in electricity supply across the Island.