A Cuban identified as Isabel María García Rey recently reported on social media the unbearable noise generated by the generator installed by ETECSA next to the Granma building in Nuevo Vedado, Havana. Shortly after her post, they turned off one of them, but according to her report on the same platform, it was turned back on later.
In an initial video posted on Facebook, the woman recorded the noise of the generator from her apartment and explained that it operates nonstop 24 hours a day, including early mornings, because blackouts in the area have become nearly total.
"That noise you are hearing in the background, believe me, is much louder in person than it sounds here. It's the sound of the entire day from the power plant of ETECSA, all day long, morning, afternoon, and night, because they are only giving us two hours of electricity a day," he stated in the video.
In subsequent comments, García Rey clarified that this is not a private plant but rather a large facility. "It makes noise like a turbine and operates 24 hours because power outages are getting longer every day, from 3 AM yesterday until 6 AM today, that is to say, 27 hours without electricity and with the infernal noise," he wrote, adding that "it has been proven that this affects health" and that ETECSA "needs to find a solution."
The author also questioned the logic of the scheme: “The plant here is enormous, it really uses two oil tankers daily and the noise is extreme. In conclusion, for me, it is more costly than if they kept the circuit powered or didn’t turn it off for so many hours in a row. It consumes more than a dragon.”
Regarding the company's indifference, she was direct: "They do nothing; they no longer care that we, all the neighbors from the Granma building, are here."
After her complaint, as she mentioned on the same platform, "the one that makes the most noise was turned off about 3 hours after this post, but today they turned it back on and it's making a tremendous racket since 6 am." She also clarified that "there are two plants in the same location."
The complaint falls within the worst energy crisis that Cuba has faced in decades. On June 10, the Electric Union reported an availability of only 960 MW against a peak demand of 2,595 MW, leaving more than 65% of the national electrical system without coverage. In Havana, outages have exceeded 20 hours a day.
To keep their networks operational during power outages, ETECSA has deployed generators in various locations across the country, which has led to a new issue: noise pollution in residential areas where the generators operate continuously.
Cuban regulations set limits of 55 dB during the day and 45 dB at night in residential areas, and Law 81 on the Environment prohibits noise emissions that exceed these levels or affect health. The World Health Organization warns that prolonged exposure to noise above 45 dB can cause insomnia, stress, irritability, and an increased risk of cardiovascular issues.
This month, ETECSA began installing solar panels and battery banks in some municipalities as an alternative to generators, but the measure comes too late for residents like those of the Granma building, who have been enduring the double burden of power outages and the accompanying noise for weeks.
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