A truck lost control and crashed on Thursday night into the Vietnam Substation, located in the municipality of Aguada de Pasajeros (Cienfuegos), causing severe damage to the electrical infrastructure and leaving over 9,000 customers without service in a province already plagued by prolonged blackouts.
The Electric Company of Cienfuegos announced on Facebook that the impact "caused severe damage to the transformer and other components of that substation," which forced the disconnection of eight circuits supplying 9,026 consumers.
Affected areas include Aguada de Pasajeros, Real Campiña, Vietnam, Perseverancia, Plan Arroz, Antonio Sánchez, and several rural communities in the municipality.
The accident also caused the fall of poles, broke insulators, disconnected conductors, and resulted in a spill of dielectric oil from the transformer, which complicated recovery efforts from the early hours.
The state-owned company confirmed that the damaged transformer had to be transferred to Havana for repairs, as the country has only three specialized workshops for this type of equipment, located in Havana, Villa Clara, and Manzanillo.
"Efforts are being made to repair the damage on the line in order to provide service to the other circuits in Aguada, while the circuit associated with the Vietnam Substation remains pending as repairs are made to the transformer," specified the Electric Company.
So far, the authorities have not indicated how long the equipment repair will take or when the service will be fully restored.
An area already affected by blackouts
The accident worsens the situation in a municipality that has been experiencing prolonged power outages for months.
Residents of Aguada de Pasajeros have reported power outages lasting up to 48 consecutive hours, while residents of Real Campiña, one of the areas affected by the disaster, reported in June that they had been three days without electricity and nearly a month without access to potable water due to the lack of energy for pumping.
The collision also highlights the fragility of the Cuban electrical system, where the lack of transformers and spare parts complicates recovery from any malfunctions. In June, the Electric Union (UNE) acknowledged that no province had sufficient backup transformers to replace damaged equipment.
Relentless energy crisis
The accident occurs in the midst of one of the worst energy crises that Cuba has faced in decades.
This Saturday, UNE forecasted a generation deficit of 2,080 megawatts (MW) during peak demand hours, after the expected impact reached 2,315 MW on Friday.
So far in 2026, the National Electroenergy System has experienced several large-scale collapses, including one on July 14, while daily blackouts continue to affect millions of Cubans across the country.
Although the teams are working on the recovery of the substation, the Electric Company of Cienfuegos only stated that its specialists are working "to resolve the issue as quickly as possible," without providing an estimated date for the full restoration of service.
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