On Monday, Cuba experienced a total disconnection from the National Electric System (SEN), with no clear cause identified up to the time of the official report cited.
The Unión Eléctrica (UNE) reported on Facebook that "no malfunctions are reported in any of the thermal units that were operational at the time the disconnection of the SEN occurred," while the Ministry of Energy and Mines communicated that the causes of the collapse were still under investigation.
The total system failure was confirmed by the UNE with a message stating: "There has been a total disconnection of the National Electric System. Protocols for restoration are being implemented. We will continue to provide updates."
This official confirmation placed the country on the brink of a widespread blackout after a day already marked by significant electrical disruptions across the nation.
Subsequently, the UNE announced that microsystems are now starting to operate in various territories of the country and that Energás already has a generating unit in service.
The most relevant detail of the new official report is that, at least according to the UNE, the collapse was not associated with the outage of any of the thermal power plants that were operational at that time.
Typically, this type of disconnection is attributed to the failure of a power plant, with Antonio Guiteras often mentioned in previous episodes. However, in this case, the electricity company stated that there were no reported faults in the operational thermal units when the national electrical system experienced the outage.
This lack of an immediately explained cause occurring in a context that was already extremely fragile.
A day of blackouts
According to the UNE report for March 16, the day before, there were service disruptions due to capacity shortages that lasted for 24 hours, and these interruptions continued into the early morning.
The highest impact reported the day before was 1,891 megawatts at 7:20 p.m., a figure that exceeded expectations due to demand being higher than forecasted.
Before the complete disconnection, the system was already operating under severe pressure.
At 6:00 a.m. on March 16, the UNE reported a supply of only 1,140 megawatts against a demand of 2,347, with 1,220 megawatts affected at that time.
For the noon schedule, an impact of 1,250 megawatts was also estimated, confirming that the grid was operating well below the country's actual needs even before the total collapse.
The official report also outlined a very deteriorated situation in generation.
Among the units reported as out of service were unit 5 of the CTE Mariel; units 2 and 3 of the CTE Santa Cruz; unit 2 of the CTE Felton; and units 3 and 6 of the CTE Antonio Maceo. Additionally, maintenance was being carried out on unit 6 of the CTE Mariel, unit 5 of the CTE Nuevitas, and unit 4 of the CTE Carlos Manuel de Céspedes in Cienfuegos.
The UNE also reported 492 megawatts out of service due to limitations in thermal generation.
Despite that scenario, the company still anticipated the entry of unit 4 of the CTE Cienfuegos with 80 megawatts during peak hours, which was "in the process of starting up."
With that forecast, it calculated a availability of 1,220 megawatts against a maximum demand of 3,150, which implied a deficit of 1,930 megawatts and a projected impact of 1,960 megawatts during the peak consumption hour.
That is to say, even before the total blackout, the official planning already recognized a very deep crisis in the supply.
The report also included the contribution from solar generation. According to the UNE, the 52 new photovoltaic solar parks produced 4,262 megawatt-hours, with a maximum output of 732 megawatts during peak hours.
However, that contribution did not succeed in preventing the worsening of the crisis or the subsequent complete collapse of the system.
The Island went from a situation of chronic deficit and prolonged blackouts to a complete disconnection from the national electricity grid, without the electric company having provided a specific technical cause for the disruption.
The overall context remains one of a serious energy crisis characterized by outdated thermal plants, fuel shortages, frequent breakdowns, and the structural fragility of the system.
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