Related videos:
La Unión Eléctrica (UNE) reported this Wednesday that the National Electric System remains in a critical situation, although there has been a slight decrease in the deficit compared to previous days. According to the official report published on its , a capacity of 1,440 MW is predicted for the peak evening hours against a demand of 2,950 MW, leading to a deficit of 1,510 MW and an estimated impact of 1,540 MW.
The report shows a slight improvement compared to Tuesday, when the deficit exceeded 1,850 MW, according to the data reported the previous day, although the UNE acknowledged that the availability remains insufficient to meet the country's demand.
The Guiteras returned to the system with low generation
In the early hours of this Wednesday, the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric power plant in Matanzas successfully reconnected to the National Electric System after several days offline for maintenance. According to a report from Periódico Girón, at 3:00 am this Wednesday, the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric power plant synchronized with the National Electric System, and just one hour later it was generating 100 megawatts, as stated by Román Pérez Castañeda, the technical director of the plant.
During the technical shutdown, which UNE had announced would last approximately 96 hours, preventive maintenance work was carried out on the generating unit, according to the statement published on January 29. The plant, regarded as the country's main generating block, was taken offline that day at 12:12 p.m. and remained disconnected for several days before being reconnected to service.
The return of the Guiteras may have influenced the slight reduction in the projected deficit, although the generation of 100 MW is far from its usual maximum capacity.
Blackouts and warnings in Havana
The Electric Company of Havana reported that on Tuesday, the electrical service was disrupted for more than seven hours, from 2:29 p.m. to 9:34 p.m., due to a capacity deficit. In its note published on Facebook, the company stated: If the availability conditions of the SEN do not improve, it is anticipated that blocks and circuits will be affected due to Energy Contingency without a scheduled time.
At the end of the statement, the capital-based company assured that "there is no impact due to deficit," although it warned that the situation could change if availability does not improve.
Reactions from the population
In the UNE's Facebook post, citizens' reactions were immediate and reflected the growing fatigue with the energy crisis. Several users commented sarcastically with phrases like "the magicians are already coming out" or "we'll be at 1,900 in no time, they're already on the way," while others expressed frustration over outages occurring outside of the scheduled times: "they cut off my circuit two hours early, I don't remember the last time we woke up and went to bed with power."
Other messages questioned the lack of explanations regarding the outages: “why is the power always cut in the same block?” and “you can’t even cook.” There were also those who summarized the general sentiment with a straightforward phrase: “people are no longer stupid; this is beyond repair.”
The responses highlight the loss of trust in official reports and the exasperation of a population that has been facing prolonged blackouts across the country for too long.
Filed under: