Cuba experienced a nationwide power outage on Friday due to a malfunction at one of its main power plants, the Ministry of Energy and Mines reported.

The Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant’s electrical system “completely disconnected” at 11 a.m., according to a post on X. This event left millions of Cubans without power in a country already experiencing frequent outages amid a deepening economic crisis.

The energy agency confirmed they are working to restore power.

Cuban officials stated that the blackout, which began late Thursday, resulted in 1.64 gigawatts going offline during peak evening hours, approximately half of the total demand at that time.

“The situation has worsened in recent days,” Prime Minister Manuel Marrero stated in a special address on national television early Friday morning. “We need to be fully transparent… we have been halting economic activities to conserve energy for the population.”

“The highest leadership of the country is working to resolve this energy contingency as soon as possible,” he later wrote on X. “We will not rest until it is restored.”

During his address, Marrero was joined by Alfredo López, the head of the state-owned utility UNE, who attributed the outage to increased demand from small and medium-sized businesses and residential air conditioners, combined with breakdowns in aging thermoelectric plants that haven’t received proper maintenance and the lack of fuel to operate some facilities.

Earlier in the day, the communist-run government announced the suspension of non-essential industries. Most government workers were sent home as an energy conservation measure.