The Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, acknowledged this Wednesday before the National Assembly of the People's Power that the systematic theft of transformer oil exacerbates the already devastating crisis of the National Electric Power System (SEN).
The official stated that some Cuban settlements have been without electricity for up to 105 days due to damage to transformers that are difficult to replace.
The statements were made during the VII Ordinary Session of the X Legislature, held at the Palace of Conventions in Havana, precisely on the day the Electric Union forecasted a record shortfall of 2,380 MW. This figure represented 74.4% of the maximum demand anticipated for peak hours, estimated at 3,200 MW.
De la O Levy was explicit in asserting that the theft of oil is a problem that cannot be attributed to the U.S. embargo.
"We cannot add problems that are unrelated to the blockade. That theft of transformer oil happening daily. The amount of oil that has been stolen from us is almost equivalent to what we have been producing in the same period during which we are being robbed," he stated.
The official explained that a malfunction in a thermoelectric unit and damage to a transformer have different consequences: while a unit can cool down, be repaired, and restarted, certain transformers are difficult to replace due to their technical characteristics and the age of the circuits.
"When a transformer fails, there are communities, there are residential areas that have gone up to 105 days without electricity. This is because they are special transformers, because they are circuits with old, outdated voltages that are very difficult to obtain," he emphasized.
De la O Levy noted that the thefts affect transformers linked to water pumps, agricultural irrigation systems, and the electrical supply of communities.
"The theft is constant (...) and what they are doing is further exacerbating the situation that our National Electroenergetic System already faces," he warned.
Despite the words of the head of the department, the reality is that the phenomenon is not new.
On April 27, for example, the oil theft at a substation in Jagüey Grande, Matanzas, left 4,429 homes without service, as well as a hospital, a polyclinic, and a hygiene center.
That same month, in Amancio, Las Tunas, the theft of 600 liters of dielectric oil left 40% of the municipality's customers without electricity, totaling 4,947 users.
In the Guerrita area, in Mayarí, Holguín, more than 400 customers were left without electricity for 29 days following the theft of oil from a substation.
The regime has responded to these cases with a severe tightening of penalties. The ordered intentional acts that harm components or critical infrastructures of the SEN to be classified as sabotage.
According to Articles 125 and 126 of the Penal Code, the crime can be punished with sentences ranging from seven to 15 years in prison in its basic form, and from 10 to 30 years, life imprisonment, or the death penalty when severe consequences occur.
In July 2026, a court sentenced the person responsible for stealing 102 liters of dielectric oil from the Bungo 2 substation in Contramaestre, Santiago de Cuba, to 12 years in prison. The incident left hundreds of families without electricity for 48 hours.
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