Endless blackouts: UNE forecasts impacts of over 1,000 MW

Cubans responded indignantly to this new report from the Electric Union on the island.

ETE Lidio Ramón Pérez © Facebook/Bernardo Espinosa
ETE Lidio Ramón PérezPhoto © Facebook/Bernardo Espinosa

The energy crisis in Cuba seems to worsen every day, undermining government promises of a possible solution to a situation that keeps Cubans in distress.

Through their daily report published on their social media profiles, the Electric Union (UNE) forecasts a Tuesday with more than 1,000 MW of outages during peak hours.

Facebook Capture/Electric Union UNE

Precisely, that time slot (from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.) was the most affected on Monday with 973 MW at 8:50 p.m.

However, they report that the availability of the National Electroenergy System (SEN) at 7:00 a.m. this Tuesday was 2,170 MW, while the demand was 2,550 MW, which resulted in a deficit of generation capacity affecting 411 MW. During peak hours, an impact of 550 MW is estimated.

Out of the system, due to breakdowns, are unit 8 of the Mariel Thermal Power Plant (CTE), unit 1 of the Santa Cruz CTE, unit 5 of the Nuevitas CTE, unit 2 of the Felton CTE, and unit 5 of the Rente CTE.

While the limitations in thermal generation are 449 MW.

Due to a lack of fuel, 59 distributed generation plants are out of service, resulting in a total of 448 MW affected by this issue.

Under these conditions, and including the expectation that Unit 1 of the CTE Santa Cruz will come online during peak demand time with a mere 70 MW, the UNE forecasts a availability of 2,240 MW during peak hours, which does not meet a maximum demand of 3,200 MW, resulting in a deficit of 960 MW. If the expected conditions persist, a shortfall of 1,030 MW is forecasted during this time.

The climate of discontent, although suppressed by the government, does find voices in the comments section of the UNE's post.

"The highest leadership of this country must resign, they have been running this country for seven years and there is no progress of any kind. Do not cling to power, go to a popular referendum to see if you will remain; the people do not want you and did not elect you. They did not go to elections, nor did the people vote for them. Resign and let the people choose their leaders through a popular vote," wrote an internet user.

"Even higher? And how many hours will it affect where the kings of Cuba live? Absolute crime against our poor people, and no one cares about us. The state does nothing, and the world looks the other way. Such wickedness and horror will have to be paid for," noted a user.

Regarding the daily report from UNE, a person commented that "they should save themselves from so many publications every day, because they say the same thing over and over, they sound like a broken record, and stop pushing the agenda, if we have more time without it than with it, and that way you save the daily story, if you don’t post something in favor of the people."

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