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Cuba woke up this Wednesday engulfed in a new day of blackouts, following a complete interruption of electricity service for 24 hours on Tuesday across the country, with the disruptions continuing into the early hours of today, according to the official report from the Electric Union (UNE).
The highest recorded impact yesterday was 1,945 MW at 7:50 PM, a level that reflects the sustained collapse of an electrical system that the Cuban regime has allowed to deteriorate for decades of neglect and incompetence of the regime.
At 6:00 AM this Wednesday, the availability of the National Electric System (SEN) was only 1,190 MW compared to a demand of 2,470 MW, with 1,295 MW impacted. By noon, an impact of 1,300 MW was anticipated.
The nighttime outlook is even more serious. The UNE forecasts a capacity of only 1,375 MW during peak hours against a maximum demand of 3,100 MW, which implies a deficit of 1,725 MW and an estimated impact of 1,755 MW.
Among the main incidents are breakdowns in three units of the thermal power plants (CTE) Santa Cruz, Felton, and Nuevitas. Additionally, five blocks from the CTE Mariel, Renté, and Nuevitas are under maintenance.
The limitations in thermal generation amount to 406 MW offline.
As the only planned contributions for the peak, the UNE announced Unit 5 of Energás Jaruco with 20 MW, Unit 2 of the Santa Cruz CTE with 80 MW - currently in the startup process - and Unit 6 of the Nuevitas CTE with 85 MW, figures that are insufficient to reverse the deficit.
The 54 photovoltaic solar parks generated 3,561 MWh with a maximum power output of 518 MW during daylight hours, a contribution that is negligible compared to the nighttime thermal collapse experienced by the population.
In Havana, the situation is equally critical.
The Electric Company of the capital confirmed on Facebook that on Tuesday the service was also interrupted for 24 hours, with a maximum impact of 426 MW at 8:20 PM. It was necessary to activate 135 MW of emergency cuts.
At the end of the report, the six blocks of the city remained without service along with 96 MW of emergency, totaling 265 MW affected.
This deterioration is not new.
The national electrical system completely collapsed on March 16 for 29 hours and 29 minutes, and on March 22, another widespread blackout occurred.
On March 14, the deficit exceeded 2,040 MW.
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