Cuba began August with another full day of blackouts, a situation that persists despite the recent return of the Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Plant to the National Electric System (SEN).
The official statement from Unión Eléctrica (UNE) confirmed impacts during the 24 hours of Saturday and the early hours of this Sunday, with a maximum impact of 1,756 megawatts (MW) recorded at 21:10 hours.
Although the reintegration of Guiteras seemed to offer a respite, the disconnection for "commercial reasons" of the Turkish barge anchored in Havana, with a capacity of 240 MW, negated any improvement in energy availability. The Ministry of Energy and Mines claimed that measures were taken to mitigate its impact, but the reality is that the situation of the National Electric System remains critical.
This Sunday morning, the availability was 2,095 MW, compared to a demand of 3,200 MW, resulting in an impact of 1,140 MW. For peak hours, a deficit of 1,605 MW is estimated and an impact of up to 1,675 MW, which implies widespread service interruptions.
The structural causes remain unchanged: failures in units 2 of the Felton CTE and 5 of Diez de Octubre, maintenance at key plants such as Santa Cruz, Céspedes, and Renté, and 392 MW out of service due to thermal limitations. Additionally, 71 distributed generation plants are inoperable due to lack of fuel, representing another 501 MW out of the system.
In parallel, the government began the installation of storage batteries at four substations in the country. These units will allow for the conservation of part of the solar energy generated during the day, aiming to strengthen the supply at night. However, this project is still in its initial phase, and its impact is minimal in the face of the structural collapse of the Cuban energy matrix.
With the Guiteras operational but lacking real capacity to balance the system, the energy landscape continues to show no visible improvements for the Cuban population.
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