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The National Electric System (SEN) of Cuba started this Thursday on the brink of collapse, with a capacity of only 1,370 MW against a demand of 2,850 MW and 1,495 MW affected at six in the morning, according to the information note from Unión Eléctrica (UNE).
Wednesday was one of the worst days of the year for Cubans: the power service was interrupted for 24 hours, and the disruption continued even into the early morning hours.
The highest recorded impact was 1,874 MW at 9:40 PM, exceeding the planned demand that surpassed the forecast.
The situation will not improve at night. For the nighttime peak hours this Thursday, the UNE forecasts a capacity of 1,400 MW against a maximum demand of 3,250 MW, resulting in a deficit of 1,850 MW and an estimated impact of 1,880 MW during that time.
The capital did not escape the disaster. The Electric Company of Havana reported that the service was interrupted for 24 hours on Wednesday, with a peak impact of 403 MW at 11:10 PM.
"It was necessary to shut down circuits for emergency reasons with 105 MW. It was not possible to restore the service," the company's statement said.
Among the main failures are a unit from the thermoelectric plant Antonio Guiteras, Unit 2 of the CTE Lidio Ramón Pérez, and Units 3 and 5 of the CTE Antonio Maceo. Additionally, there are units under maintenance at the CTE Mariel, Renté, and Nuevitas, with 345 MW out of service due to limitations in thermal generation.
La Guiteras, the country's main individual generator, went offline on Tuesday due to a new breakdown in its boiler, resulting in a loss of 140 MW. This marks the eighth failure so far in 2026.
The plant, inaugurated in 1988 in Matanzas, has never received major maintenance in its more than 36 years of operation, and there is no clear date for it to return to service.
The only partial relief comes from the 54 solar photovoltaic parks, which on Wednesday produced 4,420 MWh with a peak power of 604 MW at noon. However, that energy is not available during the nighttime peak, when demand is highest and the crisis worsens.
The backdrop is the fuel shortage. Cuba went more than three consecutive months without receiving oil from abroad. The only significant shipment so far in 2026 was from the Russian tanker Anatoli Kolodkin, which docked in Matanzas on March 31 with approximately 730,000 barrels donated by Moscow, reserves that have already been depleted.
Miguel Díaz-Canel himself acknowledged this on May 2 before international solidarity delegates: "That oil is running out these days, and we do not know when more fuel will arrive in Cuba."
A second Russian ship, the Universal, carrying about 270,000 barrels of diesel, is adrift in the Atlantic with no confirmed destination, partly due to the pressure of U.S. sanctions.
On May 1, President Donald Trump signed a new executive order imposing expanded sanctions on energy, defense, mining, and financial services against Cuba.
The highest deficit recorded in 2026 was 1,945 MW on April 1. With a forecast of 1,880 MW for tonight, Cuba is dangerously close to that record as millions of Cubans face power outages with no schedule or solution in sight.
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