Blackouts once again define the routine of millions of Cubans this Sunday, with a deficit of over 1,000 MW in the National Electric System (SEN) and a demand that exceeds the actual generation capacity on the island.
According to information from the Electric Union (UNE) on their social media, the service was affected throughout the entire previous day and into the early hours of this Sunday, with a maximum disruption of 1,404 MW at seven in the evening.
Additionally, the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa leaves 405 MW offline in the provinces from Las Tunas to Guantánamo.
At six in the morning this Sunday, the total availability was 1,560 MW compared to a demand of 2,250 MW, resulting in a deficit of about 800 MW due to a lack of capacity.
The UNE forecasted that, during peak hours, the impact could reach up to 1,380 MW if conditions remain the same.
The main thermoelectric plants in the country continue to experience failures or are shut down for maintenance.
Units 3, 5, and 6 of the Antonio Maceo power plant remain out of service, as does unit 2 of Felton; while Antonio Guiteras is under maintenance, along with unit 2 of Santa Cruz and unit 4 of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes in Cienfuegos.
The crisis is further compounded by the fuel shortage: 72 distributed generation plants are out of operation, and another 96 MW remain unavailable due to a lack of lubricant, bringing the total affected by this issue to 664 MW.
Amid the critical landscape, the country has only managed to maintain 26 solar photovoltaic parks in the west and center of the island, which contributed 514 MW at their daytime peak.
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