Seven thermoelectric units out of service due to faults are keeping the chaos of blackouts in Cuba.

The simultaneous shutdown of seven thermoelectric units due to "breakdowns" is maintaining a critical situation in electricity generation in Cuba.

It is expected that there will be blackouts this Friday amounting to 1,245 MW, which is a modest 105 MW less than what was expected for yesterday, so the figure is not something to get excited about.

This Thursday, the service was affected due to a deficit in generation capacity throughout the 24 hours and has remained affected throughout the early hours of today.

The highest volume of blackouts nationwide on August 22 was recorded at 8:50 PM and amounted to 1,351 MW, just 1 MW higher than what had been estimated.

The availability of the SEN at 7:00 a.m. today was 2,125 MW and the demand was 2,590 MW, with a significant impact at that time of 498 MW.

It is expected that by noon the blackouts will reach around 750 MW due to a deficit in generation capacity.

Regarding the units that malfunctioned today. In the case of this Friday, it seems that unit 6 Nuevitas has been reintroduced, but in its place, unit 5 from Antonio Maceo has gone out of service.

They are out due to malfunction: unit 5 of the CTE Mariel, units 1 and 3 of the CTE Santa Cruz, unit 4 of the CTE Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, units 1 and 2 of the CTE Felton, and unit 5 of the CTE Antonio Maceo.

In addition, 28 distributed generation plants are out of service due to fuel (eight fewer than yesterday); however, the MW affected in this regard are higher than on Thursday: 196 MW today and 183 yesterday.

The Cuban Electric Union states that during peak hours, the entry of unit 5 of the Antonio Maceo CTE is expected, with 50 MW.

With such a forecast, a availability of 2,175 MW is estimated and a maximum demand of 3,350 MW, resulting in a deficit of 1,175 MW.

If the expected conditions remain, a reduction of 1,245 MW is forecasted during the peak hour on August 23.

What does the general director of Electricity of the Ministry of Energy and Mines say?

Well, for now, nothing. Until the closure of this note, Lázaro Guerra Hernández, general director of Electricity at MINEM, has not appeared in his daily televised segment.

In recent hours, several posts on the Facebook profile of the Cuban Electric Union have attempted to ease collective discomfort by giving the impression that work is being done tirelessly.

This is shown by a dedication to the work in Felton.

Another publication celebrated with fanfare that unit 4 of the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Thermoelectric Power Plant in Cienfuegos was "in the process of starting up to synchronize with the National Electric System, 48 hours earlier than expected."

What do Cubans say about the days of intense blackouts?

Well, they are fed up, as always.

"This is torture, it's a plan to kill us. It's a massacre"; "One comes in and another goes out. It's a relay race"; "We are still in the same torture, I'm at a loss for words, we can't take it anymore"; "This is a nightmarish situation. What enthusiasm will our children have when they start the school year?" these are some comments.

There has been no shortage of those who point out the recent statement made by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero: "In 5 years, everything will be better!"