The Unión Eléctrica (UNE) announced the restoration of nearly half of the circuits serving the capital of Cuba, which was severely impacted by Hurricane Rafael and the resulting damage to the national electric power infrastructure.
"Currently, 164 circuits are in service; 413,188 customers; 25 hospitals; and 6 water supply sources. We are at 48%, with 312 MW," the state-run company stated on its social media this Saturday.
The night before, Havana remained dark, with much of the city lacking electricity, even though Hurricane Rafael had already left the national territory.
A note issued by the Electric Company of Havana detailed this Friday that out of the 337 primary distribution circuits being addressed, 305 had been surveyed, and service had been restored to 143,468 customers from 50 circuits.
Eight hospital circuits and two water supply circuits have already restored their service. "We are at 15.1% recovery," the message specified, noting that 90 fallen poles had been detected, of which 30 belong to the Plaza and Cerro municipalities.
In light of the scale of the disaster, six contingents from Las Tunas, Holguín, Granma, Camagüey, Cienfuegos, and Sancti Spíritus were deployed to the capital to assist in the recovery efforts. However, in most parts of the city, fallen trees, downed poles and wires, and scattered debris remained a persistent issue.
The situation is becoming increasingly unsustainable for the population, which has now gone four days without electricity, witnessing helplessly how food is spoiling amid the high temperatures.
This Friday, protests and pot-banging took place in the neighborhoods of Nuevo Vedado and Guanabacoa in Havana to criticize the authorities responsible for the nearly 60 hours of blackouts they had been experiencing since the last total collapse of the National Electric System.
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