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A group of recovered transformers from Havana arrived this Monday in Santiago de Cuba to relieve – if we are being very optimistic – the electrical issues in neighborhoods with damaged equipment, as announced by the Electric Company of Santiago de Cuba on their social media.
The entity reported that the technicians from the Transformer Workshop immediately began testing the transformation ratio, completed the connectors, and checked the insulation, with the aim of having the equipment ready for installation in the neighborhoods within a few hours.
The announcement comes after at least three weeks during which residents of several neighborhoods reported the removal of malfunctioning transformers without official communication or timelines for restoration, leading to protests and pot-banging demonstrations in various parts of the city.
The independent communicator Yosmany Mayeta Labrada pointed out that "the darkness simply settled in, bringing with it food spoilage, nights of extreme heat for the elderly and sick, and the inability to keep medical equipment functioning."
On June 5th, residents of Micro 2 staged protests after more than ten days without electricity due to a faulty transformer.
On June 12, residents of the José Martí Urban Center took to the streets demanding electricity, food, and freedom.
Last Sunday, residents of San Ricardo protested for several days without power, while others reported the removal of transformers on Carnicería, Trinidad, and Altamira streets without any replacement date or explanations.
In parallel with the announcement of the recovered equipment, the Electric Company revealed that several transformers in the Trocha and Cristina area have suffered irreversible damage caused by illegal connections: nearly 30 residences had clandestinely connected to circuit 10, which supplies important hospital centers in the city.
A joint operation involving the Revolutionary National Police, the Inspection Directorate, and the Electric Company also took place in the Luis Dagné neighborhood, where several bakeries in the non-state sector were illegally tapping into two circuits, as well as in the Venceremos neighborhood, Vista Hermosa, Manduley Avenue, and La Ceiba.
These interventions allowed for the recovery of approximately 1,000 meters of connection, which will be used to address pending complaints due to a lack of materials, as reported by engineer Fernando Javier Hau Corona, director of the UEB of Commercial Services.
Hau Corona acknowledged that the overload when restoring the service after long hours of blackouts also contributes to damage to the equipment, but emphasized that illegal connections significantly worsen the problem by adding "a load greater than what should normally be received when there is electrical service."
Santiago de Cuba suffers from blackouts lasting up to 40 and 50 consecutive hours amid a national electricity crisis that in June recorded deficits exceeding 2,000 MW, with a mere availability of 980 MW against a demand of 2,500 MW.
Mayeta Labrada captured the sentiments of many Santiago residents with a question circulating among the affected neighbors: "What these images demonstrate, beyond technical recovery, is that resources exist and solutions are possible. The question that remains is why so often these solutions are only activated when silence is no longer an option."
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