The Cuban government has found the perfect excuse to justify the extensive blackouts that the population suffers every day: the theft of oil from electrical transformers.
A report from Canal Caribe states that the theft of the lubricant causes considerable damage to the infrastructure and prolonged outages in the service, leaving neighborhoods and communities without electricity, sometimes for more than 24 hours.
"When it happens at substations and they steal oil from a 4,000 KVA transformer at a substation, it causes around 5,000 customers to be left without service," said Israel Ramos, a specialist from the Electric Union (UNE).
The thefts of dielectric oil began in equipment at electrical substations, but now they are being reported in distribution transformers that are on columns and poles. Breakdowns in transformers make the restoration of service more complex.
"The events that have been occurring in recent times have caused the reserve to decline, and we no longer have reserve transformers," emphasized Ramos.
In such cases, it is necessary to look for options in other provinces, which delays the solution, while customers remain without service. "Last week in the town of Zulueta, in Villa Clara, they were without service for about three days," he added.
The provinces where these crimes are most frequently reported are Matanzas, Ciego de Ávila, Artemisa, and Mayabeque. In the latter, a robbery took place at the Nazareno substation in the municipality of San José de las Lajas, where five thieves were caught in the act and had to flee, leaving behind a car, a cell phone, and several 20-liter tanks.
They were subsequently detained and are in provisional prison, accused of a sabotage offense. They face sentences of between seven to 15 years in prison.
In September, there has been an increase in power outages. For this Monday, the UNE forecasted blackouts due to a deficit close to 1,000 MW.
In June last year, authorities from the entity reported the phenomenon as one of the factors that further complicates the energy situation in Cuba.
"When the oil is extracted from the transformer, it often damages the equipment because this oil is part of the insulation of the transformer and causes the final damage to the equipment," pointed out engineer Onasis Trujillo, head of the substations, lines, and networks group at UNE.
The engineer detailed that the stolen oil is used as fuel in tractors and in vehicles that use diesel.
Each ton of dielectric oil costs over 3,200 dollars. However, if the damage to the 2500 KVA transformers is permanent, the value of that equipment is 50 thousand dollars.
Since September 1, 2024, Cuba has experienced a series of blackouts. On September 3, a blackout interrupted the live broadcast of Canal Habana, affecting the television schedule. Two days later, on September 5, another blackout in Havana left more than 600,000 people without water due to failures in the electricity supply.
On the same September 5, the Minister of Energy stated that the increase in electricity consumption, partly due to the growth of Mipymes, was one of the causes of the crisis, according to his statements. On September 7, three thermoelectric units broke down, resulting in a deficit of 725 MW and worsening the situation on the island.
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