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The Cuban Electric Union confirmed this Saturday afternoon that Energás Jaruco 6 has synchronized and is now operational within the western microgrid, alongside CTE Antonio Guiteras and Energás Varadero, as part of the slow recovery process of the National Electric System (SEN) following the fourth total blackout of the year.
The announcement was made by the official OSDE UNE account on X at 7:35 PM, accompanied by the hashtag #CubaNoSeRinde and an image of the plant's interior, showing a Chinese-made turbine alongside a worker.
The collapse that triggered this new emergency occurred on Friday, July 10 at 4:30 PM, when a failure in the 220 kV line between Santa Clara and Sancti Spíritus brought down the system in just 35 minutes, leaving approximately 9.6 million people without electricity.
The system operated under extremely precarious conditions: only 935 MW available against a demand of 3,100 MW, with 11 out of the 16 thermoelectric units in the country out of service due to failures or maintenance.
The recovery became even more complicated during the early hours of this Saturday, when a new voltage collapse affected the western microsystem, forcing a complete restart of the protocol in that area.
The engineer Félix Estrada Rodríguez, director of the National Cargo Office, personally led the operations from that location and explained the progress in statements broadcast by Canal Caribe.
"In the west, we have already integrated all the units of EnergásJaruco; the combined cycle, and the 150-megawatt machine is in the startup process, as well as unit number 1 in Santa Cruz and unit number 5 in Mariel," detailed Estrada Rodríguez.
In the central-eastern region, unit 6 of the CTE Nuevitas synchronized with 55 MW to the system, which became interconnected from Santa Clara to Holguín, with power reaching the CTE Felton to initiate its startup.
The battery energy accumulation system of Cotorro in Havana has once again been crucial for stabilizing the frequency of the western microsystem during the restoration.
"Once again, it is involved in the restoration of the system in the western zone. This accumulation system is located in Cotorro and provides stability to the operation of the system," stated the director of the National Cargo Office.
The process progressed with severe fuel limitations, which necessitated the prioritization of hospitals, aqueducts, and food production centers in areas still disconnected from the national system.
"Even with the fuel limitations we have, we need to create some hubs in the provinces to invigorate hospital centers and water pumping stations," acknowledged Estrada Rodríguez.
The Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, and the head of the Economic Productive Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, Jorge Luis Broche Lorenzo, remained at the National Loading Office throughout the day.
The immediate objective of the protocol was to reach the CTE Antonio Guiteras and units 3 and 4 of the CTE Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, in Cienfuegos, to strengthen the country's base generation.
"Gradually, we will move to the center of the country to start the Guitera unit and the Céspedes units, which are the ones that remain outside," clarified Estrada Rodríguez.
This blackout is the eighth total collapse of the National Electrical System (SEN) in approximately 24 months, occurring just four days after the third one on July 6. Only on July 8 was the largest historical energy deficit recorded in the country: 2,341 MW, which simultaneously affected 73% of the Cuban population.
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