Cuba’s fifth blackout in a year exposes fragile grid; could America be next?
By isabelle // 2025-09-11
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  • Cuba’s fifth blackout in a year reveals how fragile grids become when reliant on aging infrastructure and unstable fuel sources.
  • U.S. states like California and New York are repeating the same mistakes, shutting down nuclear and gas plants while pushing unreliable renewables.
  • A prolonged blackout in America would cripple fuel pumps, ATMs, and supply chains, leading to food shortages and civil unrest within days.
  • Grid resilience requires balanced energy—renewables plus nuclear, gas, and hydro—not ideological policies that risk national stability for climate virtue signaling.
At 9:14 a.m. on Wednesday, Cuba’s national power grid collapsed for the fifth time in less than a year, plunging nearly 10 million people into darkness. Hospitals, airports, and water pumps limped along on backup systems, but most residents faced yet another day of chaos—cooking with firewood, scrambling for water, and waiting for power that might not return for days. The blackout, caused by a failure at the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, is just the latest symptom of Cuba’s crumbling infrastructure, fuel shortages, and economic crisis. But here’s the sobering truth: This could easily happen in the U.S. Cuba’s communist government has spent decades neglecting its power grid, relying on aging oil-fired plants and dwindling fuel imports from Venezuela, Russia, and Mexico. The result? A system so fragile that a single plant failure can trigger nationwide collapse. Sound familiar? America’s own grid is aging, underfunded, and increasingly dependent on unstable renewable energy sources—just like Spain, which suffered a catastrophic blackout earlier this year when its renewable-heavy grid failed under stress.

A warning from Spain’s renewable energy disaster

In May, Spain’s aggressive push to phase out nuclear and coal power backfired spectacularly. When renewable energy output fluctuated, the grid lacked sufficient backup capacity, triggering a cascading failure that left millions without power. Portugal, which shares Spain’s grid, barely avoided the same fate thanks to its last remaining gas and hydro plants. The lesson? Renewable energy alone cannot sustain a modern grid, especially when reliable baseload power is dismantled. Yet the U.S. is barreling down the same path. States like California and New York are shutting down nuclear and natural gas plants in favor of wind and solar, despite warnings from engineers about grid instability. Meanwhile, America’s infrastructure, much of it built in the mid-20th century, is deteriorating. The American Society of Civil Engineers gives U.S. energy infrastructure a C-minus grade, citing outdated transmission lines, insufficient storage, and vulnerability to cyberattacks.

Cuba’s crisis: A preview of America’s future?

Cuba’s blackouts aren’t just inconvenient; they’re life-threatening. Hospitals rely on diesel generators that may fail. Water pumps stop working, forcing residents to haul buckets from wells. Food spoils without refrigeration. In the U.S., a prolonged blackout would be even more devastating. No fuel pumps. No ATMs. No cell service. Within days, supply chains would break down, leading to food shortages and civil unrest. Cuba’s energy ministry blames "unexpected shutdowns" at its power plants, but the real culprit is decades of mismanagement. The U.S. isn’t there yet, but with policies pushing unreliable renewables while neglecting grid resilience, we’re heading in the same direction. Texas’ 2021 winter blackout—which killed over 200 people—proved how quickly a stressed grid can fail.

The hidden cost of “green” energy

Renewable energy advocates claim wind and solar are the future, but they ignore a critical flaw: These sources don’t provide steady power. When the wind dies or clouds roll in, the grid must instantly compensate with backup generation—usually natural gas or coal. Spain learned this the hard way. Cuba, with its crumbling infrastructure, is learning it now. Yet in the U.S., politicians and corporate media dismiss warnings about grid reliability as "climate denial." The reality? Energy poverty is a real threat. In Germany, skyrocketing electricity prices driven by renewable mandates have forced families to choose between heating their homes and buying food. In California, rolling blackouts are already a summer tradition. And in Cuba, residents like Raúl Ernesto Gutierrez are reduced to cooking with charcoal. "This is crazy for everybody," he told reporters. "We will have to cook with charcoal, with firewood. It’s stressful and also frustrating." The solution isn’t to abandon renewables; it’s to stop demonizing reliable energy sources like nuclear, natural gas, and hydroelectric power. Cuba’s crisis shows what happens when a nation gambles its stability on fragile systems. Spain’s blackout proves that renewables alone can’t keep the lights on. America must invest in grid resilience, modernize infrastructure, and reject ideological energy policies that prioritize virtue signaling over human survival. Sources for this article include: USNews.com Reuters.com France24.com TheGuardian.com
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