More than 400 customers in the Guerrita area of Mayarí, Holguín province, have been enduring power outages for almost a month due to an incident that has struck the already fragile electrical infrastructure in Cuba: the theft of dielectric oil at a substation left the community without service for 29 days.
Due to the lack of spare equipment in the country, the solution came from afar. A 630 kVA transformer was transported from Melones, in Havana, in a highly complex operation coordinated by the Holguín Electric Company, as explained by specialist Alfredo Molina Coutiño to the official spokesperson Emilio Rodríguez Pupo.
The challenge was significant. The Guerrita substation operates at an unusual voltage level in Cuba (33 to 4 kV), which prevented the redirection of energy from other nearby stations with different standards. This necessitated the mobilization of resources from the capital amid national shortages.
Although the new transformer is smaller than the previous one, the authorities assure that it has sufficient capacity to meet the area's demand. Meanwhile, technical teams continue to work in Pinares, where they are replacing the oil taken from the La Mensura substation and substituting key components to prevent failures.
Behind the efforts, there is also a story of everyday resistance. Community members have adjusted their routines to support the technicians and monitor the facilities, in an attempt to prevent new thefts that could worsen the crisis.
The restoration of the service is expected on the night of this Wednesday, but the incident highlights an increasingly frequent reality on the island: vulnerable infrastructure, resource shortages, and entire communities forced to endure weeks without electricity.
The case of Guerrita adds to a wave of dielectric oil thefts in Cuba that has worsened the already critical energy situation in the country during April 2026.
Only this month, similar cases were reported in Amancio, Las Tunas, where the theft of 600 liters of dielectric oil left 40% of the municipality without electricity, affecting 4,947 customers.
Last Monday, a Cuban was arrested in Jagüey Grande, Matanzas, after stealing oil from a 33 kV substation, leaving 4,429 homes, a hospital, a polyclinic, and a hygiene center without service.
Dielectric oil, which serves as an insulator and coolant in transformers, is being resold on the black market for up to 500 Cuban pesos per liter to be used as lubricant or fuel for tractors.
Holguín has been facing a wave of thefts from the electrical system since at least April 2025, including the theft of cables, transformers, oil, and batteries, resulting in losses exceeding 21,000 pesos.
This situation is worsened by the fact that the electricity generation deficit in Cuba exceeded 1,400 MW in April 2026, with Holguín being one of the most affected provinces, experiencing blackouts of up to 24 hours a day.
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