HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — Cuba’s power grid was restored Sunday after another nationwide blackout, the second in less than a week on the island, which is under a US oil blockade, the national electricity company said.

“At 6:30 a.m. (10:30 GMT) this morning, the national electrical system was reconnected throughout the country,” the national utility UNE posted on X.

After working for more than 24 hours to restart the system — a process made slower and more complex by fuel shortages — engineers were able to accelerate the restoration overnight from Saturday to Sunday.

More than 65 percent of households in Havana, a city of 1.7 million, had their power restored overnight, according to authorities.

It was the fourth nationwide blackout in less than six months and the ninth since the end of 2024 on the island of 9.6 million inhabitants.

The Caribbean island is reeling from its worst economic crisis in decades — one made worse by the fuel blockade imposed by US President Donald Trump in January as part of a pressure campaign aimed at ending six decades of communist rule.