General blackout: Only 11% of the total electricity demand in Cuba has been restored.

The process of restoring the electrical system in Cuba is advancing slowly, with only 11% of the national demand restored, reported Lázaro Guerra, director of Electricity at the Ministry of Energy and Mines.

In statements to national television, the official explained that the western region of the country has shown some progress in restarting operations, although serious challenges remain in the rest of the island, which was completely shut down on Friday due to a massive power outage.

"We are making progress in the startup process in the western area, with the Santa Cruz thermoelectric plant already in operation, and we are on our way to Mariel to restore the service," Guerra stated.

He explained that in the central region of the country, the microsystem that was already in operation continues to function, while the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant is still in the startup process. Additionally, efforts are being made to reach the thermoelectric plant in Nuevitas, he detailed.

However, the recovery in the eastern areas has been slower. The Felton and Renté plants are still facing difficulties in restarting, which has delayed the complete restoration of service in those areas.

According to the executive, the plan involves linking the different electrical subsystems of the country as generation capacities allow.

So far, a load of 370 MW has been restored, which represents only 11% of the total demand at the national level, he added.

This figure reflects the long road that still lies ahead for the energy system to return to normal, while the Cuban population continues to deal with the consequences of the massive blackout, which has affected both daily activities and the economy since Friday.

An informational note from the Electric Union detailed this Saturday that "yesterday the service was affected due to a deficit in generation capacity 24 hours a day," and "the service could not be restored in the early hours of today."

"The maximum impact due to generation capacity deficit during peak hours was 1642 MW at 7:20 PM, coinciding with peak hours," said the state entity.

The note adds that "54 distributed generation plants are out of service due to fuel: the Mariel barge, the Mariel CDE, the Regla barge, 11 engines from the Melones barge, the Moa CDE, and the Santiago de Cuba barge, totaling 909 MW, of which 335 MW is in distributed generation, 390 MW in the barges, 84 MW in the Mariel CDE, and 100 MW in the Moa CDE."

The telephone and internet service on the island has also been affected, which is additionally under the threat of a hurricane that could make landfall in the north of Holguín province.