The Cuban capital, like the rest of the country, is experiencing another massive blackout this Tuesday, the third in eight days, and hours later only 4% of customers in Havana have electricity after the new disconnection from the National Electric System (SEN).
The Electric Company of Havana (EELH) reported on its official channels that only nine substations and 11 distribution circuits have been restored, benefiting 33,188 customers with just 17 MW of power.
Of the approximately 787,000 customers in the capital, the vast majority remain without electricity.
Among the services that do have electricity, the EELH mentioned only one hospital and a water supply booster, highlighting the seriousness of the situation for the people of Havana.
"We inform the public that, following the disconnection from the National Electric System (SEN), the following have been restored: Substations: 9. 11 distribution circuits benefiting 33,188 customers (17 MW), making up 4% of the city. Vital health services: 1 (hospitals). Water supply: 1 booster. The restoration is being carried out gradually as conditions permit within the SEN," stated the state-owned company.
Parallelly, the Electric Union (UNE) reported that the Ernesto Guevara and Máximo Gómez del Mariel thermal power plants received energy to prepare for the startup of their Mariel 5, Habana 1, and Habana 2 units, indicating that the recovery process of the SEN is still in its initial phases.
The total disconnection of the SEN occurred at 11:05 AM, as confirmed by the Electric Union through its official channel.
According to the UNE, the outage of Unit 1 at the Felton thermoelectric plant, located in Holguín, caused "a fluctuation in the system parameters with a sharp change in frequency, which led to the disconnection of the SEN."
The speed at which the collapses are occurring is unprecedented in the island's electrical history.
The fourth total blackout of the year occurred on Friday, July 10 at 4:30 PM, triggered by a failure in the 220 kV transmission line between Santa Clara and Sancti Spíritus.
Four days earlier, on July 6, the SEN had already collapsed for the third time this year without the Electric Union being able to identify an immediate technical cause.
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