The electric "pull and push" that damages equipment and mental health unleashes anger in Holguín: "do not turn on the power anymore, we don't need it"

Residents of Holguín erupted in outrage on social media this Saturday against the Electric Company of the province, demanding that it stop restoring electrical service if it will only last five minutes before cutting it off again, after experiencing more than 24 continuous hours without electricity.

The complaint, published by the Facebook page Holguín en fotos, encapsulates the frustration of a weary population.

"After 24 hours without electricity, we don't need you to turn it on for 5 minutes, then turn it off, and then turn it on again for another five minutes, repeating this cycle multiple times. It's true that we hardly use the appliances anymore, but when they break, it's our already struggling economy that has to bear the cost."

The comments on the post paint a picture of collective desperation across different areas of the city.

Filiberto Corrales, from circuit 3, described the cycle of interruptions as a "Popular Disco" and listed more than 10 consecutive outages and restorations after 30 hours without power.

Bárbara Grimal Ricardo reported that after 30 hours without power, "the transformer next to my house exploded, it's never-ending."

Carlos Manuel Rojas Leyva was more straightforward in stating that "in my house, everyone has been broken by the rise and fall."

Yoslainy Fernández Ricardo expressed what many feel: "We are already at the limit. If we continue like this, not only will the equipment fail, but our mental health will suffer as well. What exhaustion, pain, and helplessness."

Mayrelis Zaldívar criticized the lack of any planning. "Not even a miserable plan for those 3 miserable hours of electricity, at least to know if I should wet the laundry or wash the rice. Planning is free, by the way," she lamented.

Adrian Velazquez Pupo pointed to institutional opacity. "The Holguín Electric Company doesn't even explain the reasons for the failure to comply with the rotations of the blocks and circuits."

Héctor Manuel Dorrego Santanaa provided an additional explanation from the perspective of the community. After 25 hours of blackout, everyone tries to use their appliances at the same time when the power returns, which causes overloads that repeatedly trip the circuit.

The discomfort has a technical explanation that the authorities themselves admitted this week. The director of the Base Business Unit for Territorial Dispatch in Holguín, Davielquis Cortina Cobas, publicly acknowledged that the provincial strategy involves leaving entire municipalities without electricity to keep energized the circuits that supply hospitals, the headquarters of the Communist Party, and the provincial government.

The official also admitted that keeping Circuit 2 closed during the day is "more financially rewarding" for the company; it is not an accidental emergency.

The national situation is worsening further. Cuba is projecting a deficit of 1,920 MW for the peak nighttime hours this Saturday, with an availability of only 1,310 MW against a demand of 3,200 MW, according to the record of blackouts registered today.

The maximum deficit of 2026 was reached on May 14, when a deficit of 2,174 MW left 70% of the national territory without electricity simultaneously, and Cuba has recorded at least seven total collapses of the electrical system in 18 months.

The Cuban Observatory of Conflicts recorded 1,133 protests in April, a 29.5% increase compared to the same month last year, with 153 directly related to the lack of electricity and water.