The Electric Company of Havana announced more emergency blackouts for this Friday that will affect customers in Havana, amidst the ongoing crisis of the National Electric System.
According to a note published on Facebook, the outages affected customers in the capital associated with Blocks #1 and #2 between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., and will subsequently affect Block #4 from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
The statement urges the population to use electricity rationally in order to reduce consumption and prevent overloads on the networks, at a critical time when the generation deficit will reach 1,595 MW during peak hours, which is more than half of the national demand.
The Electric Union of Cuba (UNE) reported this Friday that the available generation capacity at the start of the day was only 1,550 MW, compared to a demand of 2,480 MW, resulting in widespread power outages, particularly in the central-eastern region of the country.
This energy deficit has persisted for 24 consecutive hours, with the situation worsening on the night of October 31.
The situation is complicated by several generating units being out of service due to breakdowns and a lack of fuel. Plants such as CTE Mariel, CTE Santa Cruz, CTE Cienfuegos, and CTE Nuevitas remain inactive. The UNE anticipates a capacity of only 1,675 MW during peak hours against an estimated demand of 3,200 MW, resulting in a projected deficit of 1,525 MW.
The Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente De La O Levy, has described the Cuban electrical system as "fragile," citing logistical issues and adverse maritime conditions that hinder fuel supply.
Although he ruled out a total collapse like last Friday's, he warned about the instability in the power supply, which is exacerbated by the age of the facilities and the lack of maintenance.
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