Saving has avoided blackouts in Cuba, according to Granma

The demand for the electrical system on the Island has had a significant reduction, compared to the levels it usually shows during this time in previous years, they assured the newspaper Granma officials from the Ministry of Energy and Mines, and Industries, in Havana.

During daylight hours, that is, between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., the graph of the behavior of national energy demand shows that, from September 14 to 22, it has decreased by 205 megawatts on average, an expense even below what was forecast, he explained to Granma, Pavel Angulo Peña, director of the National Freight Office of the Electric Union.

In the case of peak hours, between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., which is the one with the highest participation in the residential sector, shows a reduction of 190 megawatts. These figures mean that the country has stopped consuming 39,354 megawatts/hour, which is equivalent to 8,658 tons of fuel, said Angulo Peña.

For his part, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Raúl García Barreiro, during the National Energy Council, explained that thanks to these savings “scheduled electrical interruptions have not been necessary so far.” However, García Barreiro insisted that greater efforts were needed to further reduce energy demand during peak hours.

"Given the island's energy emergency, it is essential to increase self-control in our work centers, to assess how much is being consumed during peak hours, and see how we can save more," said the Minister of Industry, Alfredo López Valdés. .

Another measure that was mentioned was the creation of a document known as a “log”, in which each company must reflect what it consumes through the daily reading of its meters.

López Valdéz also referred to the need to train each inspector, "so that they rigorously evaluate these documents during their visit to the companies."

This meeting, which has been held regularly since last September 11, after the Cuban leader, Miguel Diaz-Canel, warned that the country was going to experience a serious energy crisis in the coming days.

From then on, it is about maintaining greater control over electricity consumption on the Island. An expression of this has been a series of “surprise visits” to different entities.

Some of the regulations applied, however, have brought workers' discontent in several Cuban companies, which must endure, among other things, the Antillean heat without being able to use air conditioning.

In June it became known closure of the Santa Clara roasting factory, Manuel Ascunce Domenech, which is responsible for producing and marketing the coffee that is distributed as part of the basic basket. The reason was “electrical overconsumption.”