Tiñosa leaves Jicotea and other towns in Sancti Spíritus without electricity.

It seems like the headline of a meme or a parody of a news story from the Cuban Electric Union (UNE), but it's what actually happened this Saturday in three municipalities of Sancti Spíritus, according to the Electric Company of that province.

"The Jicotea, Majagua, Orlando González circuit is out of electric service to remove the transformer at the Substation. It is advised to keep equipment disconnected to avoid damage," reported the Electric Company of Ciego de Ávila on Telegram.

In its infinite and macabre inventiveness, the Cuban regime has just unlocked a new excuse to justify the blackouts on the Island. Starting Saturday, "removing tiñosa at the substation" will serve for those responsible for the electrical supply in the country to avoid addressing the causes of the collapse of the national electroenergetic system (SEN).

Recently, Cuban authorities have used the supposed theft of oil from electrical transformers to justify the extensive blackouts that the population suffers every day.

A report from Canal Caribe stated in mid-September that the theft of 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 in substations and they steal the oil from a 4,000 KVA transformer, that causes around 5,000 customers to be left without service," said Israel Ramos, UNE specialist.

The alleged thefts of dielectric oil began with equipment in electrical substations, but those responsible for UNE are now reporting them in distribution transformers that are on columns and poles.

"The events that have been occurring in recent times have caused the reserve to decrease, and we no longer have backup transformers," Ramos emphasized.

In those cases, options in other provinces must be sought, 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.

Last June, authorities from the entity reported the phenomenon as one of the factors that further complicates the energy situation in Cuba.

For their part, Cubans are tired of hearing excuses and pretexts to mask the regime's inefficiency. This is evident in the comments and criticisms that thousands of users pour into the social media of the UNE and the provincial electric companies.

"This is a constant psychological disturbance, and on top of that, one lie after another; no one provides a solution to these problems that worsen every day," expressed an internet user in mid-July. Comments like theirs appear daily on social media.

In September 2023, the director of the Electric Company of Havana, Mario Castillo Salas, reported that at least 25 circuits in the capital were triggered by the passage of a storm.

"The persistence of rain in several municipalities limits restoration efforts," added the post, which was met with dozens of comments from netizens who claimed that the storm was the perfect excuse for new blackouts.

In February of that year, after the fourth massive blackout reported in just nine days around that time, Cuban users exploded. Amid "wildfires" and "human errors," the SEN suffered one of the most notable collapses in recent times.

"How can they be so cynical, liars, manipulators (...). Please be more creative, come up with a better lie," commented an outraged internet user. "It's simple, this political system does not work, the leaders know it and are aware of it, but they do not care," added another.