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ETECSA installed a 24 kW solar panel system at the Telecommunications Center of the municipality of Limonar, in the province of Matanzas, with the aim of keeping telephone and data services operational during the prolonged blackouts that affect the region, according to Periódico Girón on its Facebook page.
The equipment includes five batteries of 16 kWh each—80 kWh of total storage—and operates independently from the national electrical grid, allowing it to function even when the National Electroenergetic System collapses.
The measure reveals a clear priority of the regime: to protect the infrastructure of its telecommunications monopoly, which generates foreign currency for the military business group GAESA, while the Cuban population endures power outages affecting more than 70% of telecommunications customers across the country.
On the streets, the expression is straightforward: "we must take care of the little golden hen that brings in the dollars," a phrase many Cubans use to describe the preferential treatment ETECSA receives amidst the energy neglect of the rest of society.
Jorge Caraballo, head of investments at ETECSA in Matanzas, reported that a program began at the end of May to install solar panels at 30 radio bases, with completion expected in July.
As for the municipal heads, the installation followed a staggered order: first Unión de Reyes, then Pedro Betancourt, followed by Martí, and now Limonar.
The provincial plan includes three distinct programs: 18 photovoltaic systems of 2 kW for small technological hubs in municipalities such as Cárdenas, Jovellanos, Jagüey Grande, and Colón; a second program featuring kits ranging from five to seven kW for 29 radio bases; and a third program with systems ranging from 16 to 24 kW for municipal capitals, which includes the solution for Limonar.
ETECSA executives in the province justified the initiative with the following argument: "This change in the energy matrix aims to reduce the vulnerability of telecommunications services to disruptions in the national electrical system and prioritizes the use of renewable sources at key technological sites across the territory."
What the official discourse omits is the context surrounding these investments.
Cuba is experiencing the worst electrical crisis in its recent history, with a deficit that peaked at 2,147 MW on May 25 and at least seven total system failures in 18 months, including a nationwide blackout lasting nearly 30 hours in March 2026.
While ETECSA reinforces its infrastructure with solar energy, Santiago de Cuba has been experiencing since May a wave of solar panel thefts from radiobases and the company’s own cabinets, which left three nodes out of service on June 13.
The regime responded to these thefts by classifying them as sabotage with severe penalties, but the irony is not lost on anyone: Cubans steal ETECSA's solar panels because they are one of the few accessible energy resources in a country where electricity is a privilege, not a right.
A year after the so-called "rate hike" by ETECSA, the company collected millions from Cubans and in 2026 also announced charges in dollars to ensure, as they stated, the sustainability of their services.
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