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Cuba is once again experiencing a widespread blackout this Wednesday in the western part of the country, leaving provinces from Pinar del Río to Cienfuegos without service, as reported on his by the official journalist Lázaro Manuel Alonso.
According to their publication, the Electric Union is investigating the causes of the incident that led to the disconnection of the electrical system in the western part. For the time being, the exact time of the incident is unknown.
In its latest update (7:00 PM Cuba time), the state company reported that the national electric system (SEN) had a availability of 1,389 megawatts (MW) for a demand of 3,329 MW, estimating the impacts caused by this deficit at 1,972 MW.
Additionally, the company led by Alfredo López Valdés indicated that unit 6 of the thermal power plant (CTE) in Diez de Octubre (Nuevitas) and unit 3 of the CTE Antonio Maceo (Rente) had synchronized this Tuesday at 15:45 and 17:07 respectively.
The trend in recent days indicates a worsening of blackouts in the country. On Monday, the SEN presented a generation deficit exceeding 2,000 megawatts (MW). Throughout the day, the electrical service was affected for 24 hours, with a peak of incidents reaching 2,105 MW at 7:00 PM.
Among the main incidents reported the day before, UNE indicated the occurrence of malfunctions in unit 2 of Felton and in unit 3 of Renté, which was synchronized later around five in the afternoon, according to the update from the official report.
Maintenance reported on Tuesday the units 5 from Mariel, 2 from Santa Cruz, 4 from Cienfuegos, and at the gas treatment plant of Energás Puerto Escondido.
For its part, the distributed generation faced the shutdown of 102 plants—totaling 914 MW out of service due to a lack of fuel—and an additional 72 MW unavailable due to a shortage of lubricant.
In Havana, the Electric Company has been informing users for weeks about daily disruptions that require interrupting the planned schedule due to low system availability.
In mid-September, Cuba experienced its fifth nationwide blackout in less than a year, a figure that starkly illustrates the fragility of the national electrical system and the regime's inability to resolve a crisis that affects the daily lives of millions of people.
Days earlier, a massive failure of the National Electric System had caused a widespread blackout in Eastern Cuba, leaving several provinces in the region without electricity and also affecting the western part of the country, particularly at unit 6 of the Mariel thermoelectric plant, when the 220 kV Nuevitas-Tunas line tripped, completely disconnecting the system from Las Tunas to Guantánamo.
According to Alonso's report, the disconnection was caused by "adverse weather conditions" and very low generation in the eastern region at the time of the event.
At the end of October, following the passage of Hurricane Melissa, the Cuban electrical system became precarious once again, causing the disconnection of the eastern region and widespread blackouts throughout the country.
As November began, electrical service began to be slowly and gradually restored in the eastern part of the country, reaching 50% of the service by the end of the first week, while the national deficit continued to grow.
This conjunction led to a new imbalance: while the eastern provinces gradually regained their connection to the SEN, those in the central and western regions experienced more extensive and frequent outages, once again highlighting the structural fragility of the system.
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