Government of Havana alarmed by the high numbers of electrical fraud in the capital.

Amid the high numbers of electricity fraud and the oversight they must exert on the consumption plan of the private sector, the Government of Havana is showing signs of alarm over a serious energy situation in the country.

In the month of July alone, more than 15,000 electricity frauds have been detected in the Cuban capital, said José Conesa González, coordinator of programs and objectives for industries of the provincial government at a meeting of the Provincial Energy Council section.

According to the official, quoted by the government newspaper Tribuna de La Habana, more than 90% of electrical fraud in the capital is associated with the performance of activities not reported by consumers, even in production and service operations not declared to the labor authority in their respective municipalities.

"It has not been possible for the administrations and municipal energy councils to establish correspondence with the records from the databases of the labor offices in their territories," Conesa stated, attributing this weakness to those individuals who work from home.

Liván Izquierdo Alonso, the first secretary of the Communist Party in Havana, addressed this issue, stating that “the fine and retroactive payment do not solve the problem. Control mechanisms must be effective. We have state entities that are consuming above the assigned plan. Why not take measures corresponding to these spendthrifts?”

Likewise, the leader stated that "we have a great responsibility regarding electricity consumption savings (at the national level) and in this sense, we must be consistent and adhere to the assigned consumption plan. The Energy Council is not meant to meet and evaluate every step, every day, but to apply actions aimed at improving the work."

However, another of the functions provided in the agenda of this Council is monitoring the consumption plan of private businesses.

"For this month, there is a list by municipality, including the name and address of each place to notify them of the consumption plan. However, they must be visited by representatives of the municipal energy councils to ensure that these clients notify the value of the readings daily, just as state entities do," Conesa emphasized at the meeting.

In addition, they assured that they conduct necessary controls over the 4,275 private businesses that exist in the capital, among which they claim there are high consumers.

The Cuban regime continues to bet on the persecution of high consumers and calls for energy saving or creative resistance, while Cubans continue to suffer from prolonged blackouts.

Recently, with the arrival of new vehicles to the different units of the Electric Company, the reactions of Cubans were swift, indicating that more than cars, what is needed are new thermoelectric plants and oil to get them running and thus avoid the annoying power outages.

The regime promised to reduce power outages during the vacation months, but at the end of July, they stated that the lack of diesel fuel, combined with a couple of "unforeseen" breakdowns, prevented them from maintaining the stability of the electric service.

The strategy of maintaining and preparing the thermoelectric plants to reduce blackouts during the hottest months and school vacations has not been effective, so the regime continues to fail to meet its promises.