The regime spokesperson Humberto López has claimed on his program "Hacemos Cuba" that the government of Miguel Díaz-Canel is working on investments that "will change the reality" of the prolonged and constant blackouts on the Island this year. But while that happens (if it ever does), he warns that the Cuban communists will not allow anyone to be "stealing oil from a transformer" to sell it as fuel for tractors, or "components for investment in solar panels."
Among the most common crimes affecting the National Electric System are, additionally, the theft of operational equipment, such as angle irons sold on the black market for use in garages, farms, and fences. Lastly, there is the coveted fuel from power plants, which involves the collaboration of employees from the Electric Union itself.
From the Ministry of the Interior (Minint), these thefts are viewed as "a significant threat" to the national electric power system, and therefore they believe that "investigations should be conducted with rigor and determination."
Those who steal oil from transformers are charged with theft with force, but also with embezzlement and sabotage, in the event that the transformer burns out, as this is considered a crime that impacts the internal security of the State, affecting the homes served by the transformer. In this latter case, it is disregarded that the intention may not have been to leave 4,000 residents without power, but that this is the consequence of the theft. The idea of the Cuban communists is that those who steal from the national electrical system should face a "severe penal policy."
"In a moment of such complexity for the national electroenergetic system, committing crimes against any of the components of the investments in those places where hard work is being done to improve the current situation, anyone who tries to profit from these resources deserves public condemnation," stated Humberto López, who hosted the director of the Electric Union, engineer Alfredo López Valdés; the chief prosecutor of Mayabeque province, Lourdes Pedroso Pared; and Captain Roberto Batista Fernández, the first criminal investigator in the General Division of Criminal Investigation of the Ministry of the Interior.
Among the main crimes associated with the National Electric System (SEN), the regime's spokesperson highlighted the theft of oil from transformers. As López Valdés explained, the sub-stations of the UNE in isolated and remote rural areas provide electricity to 3,000 to 4,000 homes, but there is no one to operate them. In this context, thieves take a valve used to extract oil from the transformer, drain that oil (approximately 1,000 liters or more), and sell it.
The problem, explains the director of the UNE, is that when that oil is drained, the transformer burns out and a short circuit occurs, a malfunction that can even be fatal for the person draining the oil.
To prevent oil thefts, López Valdés asserts that the valves are being welded, but this solution has not been effective in curbing the thefts because thieves are "breaking those valves" to take the oil. That's why they have now decided to put on "a cap" and cameras, whether "exposed or not," which will continuously transmit the recorded information to a central location.
Nevertheless, it is reported that there are already arrests made in connection with this crime, despite the challenges posed by the arrests and investigations, as the thefts occur in very remote areas, which gives this criminal offense "a sense of impunity."
Among the evidence gathered by the Minint to support the charges are the tools used to break the valves, which leave marks that serve to prove the crime. In any case, the official message to the public is that "many cases are being clarified," and "people need to be told that they are taking a risk," noted the director of the UNE.
Regarding the person who buys transformer oil to use it as diesel in their tractor, prosecutor Lourdes Pedroso warns that they could be charged with "receiving stolen property," as anyone purchasing it is aware that they are buying something illegal, which can be distinguished from conventional diesel by its color and smell.
Pressure on the UNE
The director of the UNE has also announced that this year more than 50 solar parks across Cuba (each covering 32 blocks) must be brought into service so that, at a minimum, 8% of next year's electricity is produced by them. Each of these parks would require an investment of 16 million dollars in supplies, and they have already begun to steal the screws from the panels, which, although they may appear common, Canal Caribe reports are specific to these infrastructures.
In any case, it is, according to López Valdés himself, isolated incidents that they are "trying to address in a timely manner." He also acknowledged that once the solar parks are completed, "it is not very common for many thefts to occur, but it can happen." Nevertheless, a lighting and camera system is being designed for the solar parks, along with four to six surveillance booths staffed by workers and management.
In this regard, they warn that in solar fields, during the day, there is current and danger. In fact, there was a case of a person who tried to cut a cable in Ciego de Ávila and died as a result of injuries sustained from the electric shock.
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