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The Electric Union (UNE) forecasted this Friday a deficit of 1,720 MW during the peak nighttime demand period, with a supply of only 1,510 MW against a demand of 3,200 MW.
This results in a deficit of 1,690 MW, equivalent to the demand of more than half of the country's population.
The situation had already become critical by dawn: at 6:00 AM, the National Electric System (SEN) was operating with 1,400 MW available against a demand of 2,740 MW, resulting in 1,340 MW affected. By midday, UNE estimated an impact of 1,350 MW.
As partial relief, the organization forecasted the entry of unit three of the Renté CTE —currently being started up, with 50 MW—, unit five of Energás Jaruco with 30 MW, and the completion of unit six of Energás Jaruco with an additional 30 MW.
Among the main incidents are malfunctions in a unit of the CTE Antonio Guiteras, unit two of the CTE Lidio Ramón Pérez, and units three and five of the CTE Antonio Maceo. The following are under maintenance: unit five of the CTE Mariel, unit six of the CTE Renté, and unit five of the CTE Nuevitas, with 345 MW out of service due to thermal generation limitations.
La Guiteras, the country's main individual generator with a capacity of up to 340 MW, went offline last Tuesday due to a boiler failure, resulting in a loss of 140 MW. This marks its eighth failure in 2026, and the plant, inaugurated in 1988 in Matanzas, has never received major maintenance in over 36 years.
On Thursday, the service was affected 24 hours a day, including all through the night, with a maximum impact of 1,876 MW at 8:40 PM. Matanzas had accumulated over 40 hours of continuous blackout by the end of that day, while Santiago de Cuba was left without radio or television signal due to the generation deficit.
The 54 newly installed photovoltaic solar parks produced 4,232 MWh this Friday, with a maximum power output of 598 MW during peak hours, although this energy is not available during the nighttime peak, when the crisis intensifies.
The background of the emergency is the fuel shortage. Venezuela suspended its shipments in January, and Mexico did the same that month. The only significant cargo of the year was that of the Russian tanker Anatoli Kolodkin, which arrived on March 31 with approximately 730,000 barrels, and its reserves have already been depleted. A second Russian ship, the Universal, is adrift in the Atlantic with no confirmed destination.
Miguel Díaz-Canel himself admitted on May 2nd to international solidarity delegates: "That oil is running out these days and we don't know when fuel will arrive in Cuba again."
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