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Cuba woke up this Monday to a critical electrical situation, following the official report from the Electric Union (UNE) that indicated a generation deficit exceeding 1,900 megawatts (MW), warning of widespread disruptions throughout the day.
Hours later, new breakdowns at two key thermoelectric plants further complicated the situation of the National Electro-Energy System (SEN).
According to the official reports from UNE, at 8:09 a.m., Unit 5 of the Máximo Gómez Thermoelectric Power Plant (CTE) in Mariel went offline, due to a leak in the boiler.
Minutes later, at 8:27 a.m., the company reported the shutdown of Unit 3 at the Ernesto Guevara de la Serna power plant in Santa Cruz del Norte, due to a blocked CAR B, a failure in the reheated air control system.
These new breakdowns add to the units already offline for maintenance or faults at other plants in the country, such as Antonio Guiteras, Felton, and Diez de Octubre, which continue to restrict the national electricity supply.
With the system on the verge of saturation, each additional outage means more scheduled cuts and unplanned blackouts.
The report from the UNE released in the early morning indicated a capacity of only 1,433 MW against a demand of 2,337 MW, with an initial shortfall of 904 MW and a forecast of reaching up to 1,997 MW during the peak nighttime hours.
With the new outputs from Mariel and Santa Cruz, the deficit could exceed 2,000 MW, a scenario close to the collapse of the SEN.
On social media, many users expressed their frustration over what they describe as "a dark Christmas," while others criticized the official silence regarding the true reasons for the outages.
"There is no fuel, no maintenance, and no shame," wrote an internet user, reflecting widespread discontent.
The UNE assured that "work is being carried out continuously" to restore the affected units, although no specific timelines were provided. Meanwhile, Cubans are bracing for another day of prolonged blackouts right before the Christmas holidays, amidst an energy system that seems increasingly fragile.
CiberCuba will continue to update this developing information.
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