Communist Cuba's national power grid collapsed for the fourth time in less than a year on Wednesday morningcausing a nationwide blackout, authorities said.

"There has been a total disconnection of the Electric System," the Energy Ministryand National Electric Union said.

The grid operator said the grid collapsed at 9:14 a.m. (13:14 GMT) on the Caribbean island.

The ministry said causes are being investigated and the restoration process has already begun.

Even before Wednesday's grid collapse, leaving 10 million residents without power, many across the island had already been experiencing daily blackouts of 16 hours or more.

The grid failure follows a string of nationwide blackouts since late last year that plunged Cuba's frail and antiquated power generation system into near-total dis

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