The official account on X of the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant (@CteGuiteras), posted an emotional message this Tuesday urging the public to be patient in light of the power outages that are suffocating the country in the midst of summer.
"With our hearts in our hands. We know that the light takes time. That the heat is intense. But we want you to know a truth: behind every blackout, there is an electrical worker who hasn’t slept, who hasn’t embraced their family. The energy situation is tough. It hurts," the text read, accompanied by the hashtag #ElectricWorkers.
In a response to the same thread, the account added: “But here, in every thermoelectric plant, there is an army that does not surrender. Day after day, they put on their overalls again and stand firm. It’s not resignation. It's resistance. It’s love for Cuba. We ask the people for understanding, but above all, trust. We will not let them down.”
A third message described the reality of the workers: "While the public hears about the disconnection and reconnection of some thermal units of the SEN, the reality for the workers of the Cuban thermoelectric plants is completely different. They endure long days that extend until exhaustion and sleepless early mornings."
The plea for understanding comes at one of the worst moments for the Cuban electrical system. According to the informative note from Unión Eléctrica published this Tuesday, the service was affected for a full 24 hours on Monday, with a maximum impact of 2,128 MW at 9:40 PM.
For this Tuesday, the state agency forecasted an impact of 2,150 MW, with only 1,080 MW available during peak hours against a projected demand of 3,200 MW, a gap that condemns millions of Cubans to spend the day without electricity.
Several thermal units remain out of service, including units 5 and 6 of the Máximo Gómez Thermoelectric Plant in Mariel, unit 2 of the Ernesto Guevara De La Serna Thermoelectric Plant in Santa Cruz, and unit 3 of the Antonio Maceo Thermoelectric Plant in Renté. Additionally, 106 distributed generation plants are out of service due to a lack of fuel.
The Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, which lends its name to the contingent, has recorded at least 17 unplanned outages so far in 2026 and has not received major maintenance since 2010. On July 18, the plant was connected to the system for barely 26 minutes before failing again due to a leak in the boiler.
The plant manager admitted in June that they do not have the necessary parts for a more extensive repair, which would require replacing about 500 tubes and executing between 1,000 and 1,200 weld beads with a shutdown of at least 180 days.
The message from the Guiteras Contingent follows the pattern of other official statements that have attempted to humanize the crisis without offering concrete solutions. The Minister of Energy, Vicente de la O Levy, declared on July 11 “no one is giving up here” following the fourth total blackout of the year, and Prime Minister Manuel Marrero promised on July 15 to restore the system "as soon as possible" after the fifth collapse. All these promises were met with skepticism and irony by the population on social media.
The historic record deficit of the system was recorded on July 10 at 2,341 MW, and power outages average between 20 and 24 hours daily in Havana, while in Matanzas they have reached 87 consecutive hours without electricity.
Related videos:
Filed under: