The Cuban regime has a new culprit for the blackouts that are suffocating the island: sargassum. The joint venture Energas reported this Friday that the combined cycle of its plant in Boca de Jaruco was removed from the National Electric System on Thursday night due to a massive accumulation of that macroalgae in the seawater channel of the facility.
According to Energas executives interviewed by journalist Bernardo Espinosa for Canal Caribe, sargassum blocked the filtration systems of the nets, caused a drop in levels in the bays, and triggered the automatic shutdown of the pumps. "At that moment, we were operating the Japanese machine at 135 MW. Normally, at full load, we operate at 260 MW," one of the executives acknowledged, thus admitting that the plant was already operating at half its capacity before the algae completely removed it from the system.
The official explanation did not hold back on drama. Specialists described in detail how the sargassum "manages to evade the barrier and, at the moment of oscillation, it jumps and penetrates" until it is drawn in by the suction of the equipment. "Nature presents us with this challenge, and we try to improve it with our resources," declared one of the experts, carrying a "revolutionary" fighting spirit that hardly comforts the Cubans who have been without electricity for weeks.
To combat the marine invader, Energas deployed brigades with divers, specialized machinery, and even an imported hydraulic pump. "We are currently testing it, and it is proving to be quite efficient," stated an executive about the new equipment, while Canal Caribe concluded its report with the triumphant phrase: "The color blue is gaining ground."
The sargassum season—typically running from late March to August—started earlier this year, according to company executives: "We have been battling sargassum and all the technologies since January." This means that the entity was aware of the problem for at least several weeks, and the plant, one of the most modern and efficient in the Cuban system with a capacity to contribute 260 MW, also went offline.
The sargassum —whose advance in the geographic area has been reported for months— adds to an already extensive gallery of official scapegoats: the U.S. embargo —invoked by President Miguel Díaz-Canel every three seconds—, the aging facilities with more than forty years without capital maintenance, the severe lack of fuel, global warming, and post-maintenance breakdowns. In February 2026, the Deputy Prime Minister Óscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga declared regarding the fuel crisis that they were not there to make excuses, while power outages exceeded twenty hours a day in several provinces.
The reality faced by the Cuban people contradicts any heroic narrative. On April 1st, a maximum impact of 1,945 MW was recorded, leaving 54% of the Island without power at the same time. On April 6th, the shutdown of the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant caused an outbreak of blackouts lasting 24 hours in many areas. On April 9th—the same night that sargassum supposedly defeated Energas—a Frequency Trip left municipalities in Havana without electricity, marking the fourth episode of this type so far in 2026. Also this Thursday, residents of La Güinera staged protests with pots and pans due to the lack of electricity.
While Canal Caribe celebrates that "Cuba confronts the problem and applies concepts of science and innovation," millions of Cubans continue to hope that one of those concepts will restore their power.
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