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The Cuban government reversed its requirement for mandatory permits to install solar panels on private homes, following a wave of criticism from citizens on social media that erupted within hours after the authorities announced the requirement in early April.
Recently, the Director of Territorial Organization and Urban Planning of Baracoa, Yean Tomasén Frómeta, announced on the municipal telecenter Primada Visión that the installation of photovoltaic panels in homes constituted a "minor constructive action" that required prior authorization from the State, as outlined in Decree-Law 322/2014.
The process required a photocopy of the property title, a potential structural technical report, and could take up to 15 business days.
In Las Tunas, the municipal offices also reported that a Construction Authorization costing 68 Cuban pesos and a technical project were required.
The popular reaction was immediate and furious. "It’s unbelievable that, amidst the challenging energy situation, when blackouts are part of daily life, we are being asked to legalize the panels we purchased with great sacrifice," wrote Diannet Hernández on social media.
"The one who can install a panel in their home does so out of necessity, not for luxury. 'Do I now have to wait 15 days for a bureaucrat to tell me where to place mine?'" stated Ángel Luis Gámez Asencio.
Orlando Vivo summed it up with irony: "Now the energy from the sun will be through rationing."
In response to public pressure, the National Institute of Territorial Planning and Urbanism (INOTU), the National Office for the Control and Rational Use of Energy (ONURE), and the electricity companies held a meeting and rectified the measure within days.
The new regulation stipulates that the permit will only be mandatory for homes located in historic centers where it affects public aesthetics, or in multifamily buildings. In other cases, the installation is left to the discretion of the citizen.
In addition, the processing of requests that were already underway has been canceled, and it was clarified that there will be no fines for those who already have panels installed.
The authorities had argued that the regulation aimed to prevent accidents. "Installing a panel is not maintenance; it is a constructive action that modifies the structure and the image of the city," explained Tania Vázquez Góngora, provincial deputy of INOTU in Las Tunas.
"A cover that cannot support weight, a poorly anchored panel that can be blown away by a cyclone, a lithium battery that explodes due to improper installation... Legalization provides the owner with legal protection and helps avoid disputes with neighbors or fines for damages to third parties," he argued.
The episode highlights a glaring contradiction in the regime's energy policy.
Since February 2026, the government exempted the import tax on solar panels, batteries, and inverters, and offers up to eight years of tax exemption to those who invest in renewable energy systems.
However, at the same time, it imposed bureaucratic obstacles to its installation in private homes.
All of this is happening at the worst moment of the energy crisis in Cuba in decades. In March, there were two total collapses of the National Electric Power System: on March 16, the country was without electricity for 29 hours and 29 minutes; on March 22, a failure at the Nuevitas Thermoelectric Power Plant left more than 90% of Havana in the dark.
Last Monday, the Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Power Plant went offline due to a malfunction, with generation deficits of up to 1,871 megawatts.
In this context, solar panels have become a survival tool for thousands of families, although accessing them is difficult: a photovoltaic module of 800 watts promoted by the Electric Union costs more than 75,000 Cuban pesos, equivalent to more than 20 monthly salaries of an average state worker.
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