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Cuba faces one of the most critical days of its prolonged electrical crisis this Saturday: the Electric Union (UNE) projects an impact of 1,920 MW for the evening peak hours, which amounts to almost two-thirds of the forecasted maximum demand of 3,200 MW.
On Friday, the power outages extended throughout the 24 hours of the day, including the entire night, and the maximum actual impact reached 1,898 MW at 9:40 PM, according to the official report from UNE.
This Saturday, at six in the morning, the situation was already alarming: the availability of the National Electric System was only 1,310 MW against a demand of 2,730 MW, with 1,454 MW already affected at that moment.
By noon, the entity estimated an impact of 1,300 MW, and for the peak hour projected a deficit of 1,890 MW, which, combined with the system conditions, would increase the impact to 1,920 MW.
Among the immediate causes are multiple breakdowns and simultaneous maintenance activities: unit one of the Habana Thermoelectric Power Plant (CTE), unit two of the Felton CTE, and units three and five of the Renté CTE are out of service, while units five of the Mariel and Nuevitas CTEs, and unit six of the Renté CTE, are undergoing maintenance.
The limitations in thermal generation total 509 MW, according to UNE.
As a partial counterbalance, the 54 photovoltaic solar parks installed in Cuba contributed 3,396 MWh on Friday, with a peak power of 550 MW during noon hours, but that generation is insufficient to meet nighttime demand.
The figure for this Saturday, although extremely high, is below the peaks recorded in the first half of May, when the crisis reached its most severe point.
The absolute record of deficit in 2026 was recorded on May 14, when the UNE reported a deficit of 2,174 MW with only 976 MW available against a demand of 3,150 MW, leaving 70% of the national territory without electricity simultaneously.
That same day, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, publicly acknowledged that Cuba was "out of fuel" and described the situation as "severe, critical, and extremely tense".
The crisis intensified following the depletion of a Russian donation of 100,000 tons of crude oil that arrived on the island on March 31 and was consumed by early May, leaving the thermoelectric system without fuel backup.
Cuba has suffered at least seven total collapses of the electrical system in 18 months, including a national blackout lasting 29 hours and 29 minutes on March 16, 2026, while in several provinces, power outages have stretched between 20 and 24 hours daily.
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