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The Electric Union (UNE) reported this Tuesday on new outages in several generating units across the country, worsening the already critical situation of the National Electric System (SEN) and extending blackouts throughout the island.
According to an official publication from the state company on Facebook, Units 1, 4, and 6 of Energás Jaruco have gone out of service for unknown reasons, while Unit 6 of the Máximo Gómez CTE in Mariel has been taken offline due to a “false vacuum signal in the furnace.” The UNE stated that “an investigation is underway” regarding the situation.
Before the announcement, the SEN was already operating under an emergency situation, with a generation deficit exceeding 1,100 megawatts (MW) and widespread blackouts across the country, especially in the eastern provinces, which have been without power for more than a week following Hurricane Melissa's passage.
The UNE itself admitted that this Monday the electrical service was affected for 24 hours and that during the early morning of November 4th it was completely interrupted. The highest impact was recorded at 6:20 PM, with 1,205 MW out of the system.
The official report indicated that the 22 new photovoltaic solar parks in the western and central regions of the country produced only 1,970 megawatt-hours (MWh), with a maximum capacity of 378 MW, a minimal figure in light of the significant national generation deficit.
At 6:00 AM this Tuesday, the total availability of the SEN was 1,470 MW, compared to a demand of 2,220 MW, which caused an immediate shortfall of 780 MW. The UNE anticipates that the deficit will increase to 830 MW in the coming hours.
Among the main incidents are failures in Unit 6 of the Máximo Gómez Thermoelectric Plant (Mariel), Unit 2 of Felton (Holguín), and Unit 5 of Diez de Octubre (Camagüey). Additionally, Unit 2 of the Santa Cruz Power Plant and Unit 4 of the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Power Plant in Cienfuegos are under maintenance.
Thermal limitations amount to 560 MW offline, while fuel shortages have left 54 distributed generation plants (434 MW) idle, and another 147 MW are halted due to a lack of lubricant. In total, 581 MW are affected by these issues.
For the peak hours this Tuesday, the UNE anticipates the addition of only 50 MW from currently inactive engines due to a fuel shortage and a partial return of Unit 6 of Mariel, contributing an extra 80 MW. Even with these additions, the maximum availability would only reach 1,600 MW, compared to a projected demand of 2,700 MW.
If these conditions persist, the state electricity company estimates blackouts of up to 1,170 MW overnight, which will result in long hours without electricity for most Cubans.
The eastern provinces —from Las Tunas to Guantánamo— are still practically plunged into a general blackout since the end of October. Although crews are working on restoring the service, the progress is minimal and many locations remain without power or stable communications.
The electricity crisis, exacerbated by years of underinvestment, corruption, and poor management by the regime, once again highlights the structural collapse of the Cuban energy system, unable to provide a basic service to the population.
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