The Electric Company of Havana announced this Wednesday that, due to a generation deficit in the National Electric System, it was necessary to implement "emergency" power outages in the afternoon.
According to the statement, Block #3 was affected from 3:00 PM until after 7:00 PM, while part of Block #4, which was initially scheduled for interruption between 6:00 PM and 10:00 PM, also experienced interruptions during the same afternoon hours.
The entity apologized to customers for the inconveniences caused, although these emergency outages have raised concerns and criticism due to their frequency and the lack of structural solutions to the energy problem affecting the country.
The outage of the Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Plant—now preferred by UNE to be called CTE Matanzas—on Tuesday in Cuba to "carry out urgent maintenance on the boiler" has resulted in the anticipated worsening of the generation deficit on the island.
Yesterday, there was a peak of 1,514 MW affected, a figure slightly lower than the forecasted 1,594 MW.
The situation does not improve for this Wednesday, as the forecast indicates 1,541 MW of outages during peak hours and a significantly high daytime impact of 1,200 MW.
Amid one of the most significant energy crises in recent decades, the Cuban regime offers the "hope" of eliminating daytime blackouts by 2026 through the use of solar energy.
The Director of Policy and Energy Strategy at the Ministry of Energy and Mines, Ramsés Montes Calzadilla, explained to the official newspaper Granma that a mega project generating 2,000 megawatts (MW) through solar energy, along with a battery storage system, will provide an average of 1,400 MW at noon.
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