Cuba woke up this Monday, May 19, with significant disruptions in its national electrical system (SEN), following a day of continuous blackouts throughout the day and the previous night.
The country's energy situation is worsening, with a projected deficit of 1,575 MW for peak hours tonight, which could result in an impact of up to 1,645 MW if current conditions persist, according to the report on the social media of the state-owned Unión Eléctrica (UNE).
According to official data, the highest recorded impact yesterday was 1,465 MW at 9:20 p.m., right at the moment of peak demand. This Monday, at 7:00 a.m., the availability of the SEN was only 1,875 MW compared to a demand of 2,810 MW, resulting in a negative balance of 941 MW.
By noon, an increase in outages is expected, which could reach 1,050 MW, while the nighttime peak will experience the greatest energy strain, with an estimated demand of 3,450 MW and insufficient generation availability.
Among the main causes of the power collapse are breakdowns in key units such as Unit 3 of the Cienfuegos thermoelectric power station (CTE) and Unit 2 of the Felton CTE. In addition, several plants are currently under maintenance, including units in Santa Cruz, Nuevitas, Cienfuegos, and Renté.
In addition to the technical limitations, there are problems stemming from a lack of fuel, which have put 49 distributed generation plants (262 MW) out of service, along with 126 MW due to a lack of oil in engines. Overall, this situation accounts for an additional loss of 388 MW.
Despite the fact that the 12 new solar photovoltaic parks produced 1,462 MWh in the last day, their contribution has not been enough to counteract the deterioration of the grid.
With just a month left until the official start of summer, the situation remains critical, and the authorities continue to push their narrative of vague and empty promises, while the population keeps facing widespread and frequent blackouts throughout the country.
The "strategy" of the government of Miguel Díaz-Canel to schedule power outages throughout the year for maintenance and to address breakdowns in the thermoelectric plants, with the aim of having them fully operational in the summer, when consumption surges in the country, continues to yield no results.
In September 2024, the Minister of Energy and Mines himself acknowledged his failure. “In addition to the maintenance strategy that we followed throughout the semester, we faced a lack of fuel, and as a result, the blackout hours reached up to 12 hours in some places,” said Vicente de la O Levy.
Neither the 1,200 MW that the "continuity" government claims to be installing through photovoltaic parks to add to the National Electric System (SEN) and increase electricity generation, nor the investment to restore distributed generation generators: nothing indicates an effective strategy that ensures a stable electricity supply to Cubans during the hottest season and the school vacation period on the island.
Meanwhile, citizens continue to face prolonged blackouts that impact their quality of life and create uncertainty about the country’s energy future.
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