Blackout Sunday in Cuba: Impact of 1658 MW during peak hours

Blackouts are now part of the daily reality for Cubans and this Sunday will be no exception: the Electric Union (UNE) estimates an impact of 1658 MW during peak hours.

In its daily report, UNE stated that on Saturday, service was disrupted due to a capacity deficit for 24 hours, which has continued into the early hours of Sunday.

Unit 2 of the CTE Santa Cruz, Unit 2 of the CTE Felton, and Units 3, 5, and 6 of the CTE Antonio Maceo remain out of service; under maintenance are Unit 6 of the CTE Mariel, Unit 5 of the CTE Nuevitas, and Unit 4 of the CTE Carlos Manuel de Céspedes in Cienfuegos; thermal generation limitations are at 373 MW out of service.

For the peak demand, the UNE expects the commissioning of the Mariel fuel site with 106 MW, the commissioning of 6 engines at the Regla Patana with 49 MW, the commissioning of 5 engines at the Melones Patana with 32 MW, and the commissioning of 3 engines at Fuel Moa with 45 MW.

Therefore, a peak availability of 1472 MW is projected against a maximum demand of 3100 MW, resulting in a deficit of 1628 MW. If the expected conditions persist, a 1658 MW impact is forecasted during this time, the note specifies.

On Saturday, the maximum impact due to a generation capacity deficit was 1,675 MW at 7:10 PM.

For their part, the 51 photovoltaic parks contributed 4,050 MWh, with a maximum power output of 823 MW during peak hours.

The national electrical system is facing a structural crisis characterized by frequent breakdowns in outdated thermoelectric plants, lack of maintenance, and limitations in generation, keeping the country with historical capacity deficits.