The First Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines, Argelio Jesús Abad Vigoa, acknowledged this Friday that distributed electricity generation in Cuba is at a standstill due to the lack of fuels, exacerbating the energy crisis affecting the country.
The official described the current situation as the most complex one that the National Energy System (SEN) has faced so far, during a press conference with journalists and participants of the so-called solidarity convoy "Nuestra América," at the International Press Center in Havana.
Abad explained that the country has gone three months without receiving supplies of diesel, fuel oil, gasoline, aviation turbine fuel, and liquefied petroleum gas, essential fuels to sustain various sectors of the economy and also electricity generation.
The deputy minister admitted that this situation has rendered the distributed generation system, which is based on engines and small power plants that were promoted by the dictator Fidel Castro (1926-2016), devoid of operational capacity; for years, the government presented it as one of the main alternatives to strengthen the National Electric System.
We have run out of the ability to produce electricity through distributed generation, which took us so much effort to recover, Abad stated, referring to the impact of the fuel deficit.
The official acknowledged that the low levels of electricity generation are directly affecting the country's economic and social life, in a context characterized by prolonged blackouts in multiple provinces.
The official recognition comes amid growing citizen discontent due to power outages that, in many areas, exceed 20 hours a day.
In recent weeks, there have been reports of loud protests and demonstrations in various locations, such as Morón (Ciego de Ávila) and Santiago de Cuba, as well as in neighborhoods in Havana, where residents have taken to the streets to protest after enduring long hours without electric service or water supply.
In this scenario, the deterioration of the SEN continues to be one of the factors fueling social discontent, while the government admits to increasingly greater difficulties in maintaining electricity generation in the country, worsened by the energy sanctions imposed at the end of January by the administration of President Donald Trump.
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