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Cuba faces one of the most critical days of its prolonged energy crisis this Wednesday, with a projected deficit of 1,850 MW during peak nighttime hours and an estimated impact of 1,880 MW, according to the official information note from Unión Eléctrica (UNE).
The report indicates that yesterday the electrical service was interrupted for 24 hours nationwide, with a maximum impact of 1,783 MW at 8:30 PM, and that the outages continued through the early hours of today.
At 06:00 hours this Wednesday, the availability of the National Electrical System (SEN) was only 1,090 MW against a demand of 2,450 MW, leaving 1,337 MW uncovered. At noon, an impact of 1,350 MW is anticipated.
For the night peak, the UNE projects a capacity of 1,200 MW against a maximum demand of 3,050 MW. The situation is worsened by the breakdowns in Unit 6 of the Mariel Thermal Power Plant, which have significantly reduced the available generation capacity.
The shutdown of the CTE Antonio Guiteras has worsened the situation in recent days, adding to a series of failures that have left the country on the brink of total collapse. The 54 photovoltaic solar parks installed in the country have not been able to compensate for the structural deficit of the system.
The humanitarian consequences are alarming: more than 96,000 surgeries are still pending as a direct result of the energy crisis, while international organizations report challenges in distributing 6.3 million dollars in humanitarian aid intended to mitigate the effects of the emergency.
The crisis is not new. In previous weeks, two-thirds of the country lost electricity due to a massive failure in the system, and in another critical episode, over 90% of Havana lost power, highlighting the extreme fragility of Cuba's electrical infrastructure.
According to recent reports, the capital is not exempt from the collapse, with widespread blackouts affecting millions of residents and no clear prospects for short-term recovery.
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