A failure at the Hanabanilla hydroelectric plant caused the collapse of the isolated electrical microsystem operating in Villa Clara on Monday, leaving several circuits without service once again, including those supplying hospitals in the province, which had been energized just hours before.
The Villa Clara Electric Company confirmed the incident through Facebook and explained that the malfunction occurred suddenly while the region was operating disconnected from the National Electric System (SEN).
"A few minutes ago, a failure occurred at the Hanabanilla hydroelectric plant, and as a result, some of the circuits that had been restored, including those serving hospitals, lost electrical service once again," reported the entity.
The company also noted that the microsystems created during the contingency are especially vulnerable to unexpected interruptions.
"It is crucial for our clients to understand that these are isolated and vulnerable systems, making them prone to failures or sudden interruptions while the contingency lasts," he added.
A new setback following the sixth collapse of the national electrical system
The outage occurred just a few hours after the sixth total collapse of the National Electric System so far in 2026, which happened on Sunday night at 10:43 p.m., when the Electric Union confirmed the complete disconnection of the national grid.
In light of this situation, Villa Clara had started to operate through a microsystem powered by the Hanabanilla hydroelectric generation, distributed generation plants, and solar parks, aiming to ensure electricity for essential services while the recovery of the National Electric System progressed.
On Monday morning, the technical director of the Villa Clara Electric Company, Damián Jiménez, reported that specialists were working to restore the microsystem.
According to the explanation, the strategy involved the gradual reintegration of distributed generation units in Santa Clara, Calabazar de Sagua, and Remedios, in addition to restoring service in hospitals, water pumping systems, and a limited number of circuits in Santa Clara, Placetas, Remedios, Caibarién, and Sagua la Grande, which are considered essential for maintaining system stability.
There was also an attempt to synchronize, with limitations, several of the 11 solar parks in the province. As a backup, Unit 2 of the Ernesto Guevara de la Serna thermoelectric power plant in Santa Cruz del Norte and Unit 3 of Energás Varadero remained operational.
La Hanabanilla fails again at a critical moment
With an installed capacity of 43 megawatts, the Hanabanilla hydroelectric plant, located in the municipality of Manicaragua, serves as the main support for the Villa Clara microsystem during contingencies of the national electric system.
It's not the first time that a malfunction has occurred in the midst of an energy emergency. In March of this year, a failure in the 110 kilovolt transmission line of La Lima took the facility out of service and reduced the electrical supply in the province to only 49 of its more than 200 circuits.
Among the comments on the official post, a user attributed the new interruption to a technical issue that has not yet been officially confirmed.
"The circuit that provides proven stability to the Hanabanilla hydroelectric plant was not connected to it this time. And it's not just me saying it; specialists have mentioned it on several occasions," he wrote.
The discontent among the population is growing
The collapse of the microsystem triggered a new wave of criticism among the residents of Villa Clara, many of whom reported going several days without electricity.
From Caibarién, users reported accumulating 49 consecutive hours without service at the time the official statement was published.
"We have been in contingency for many months. How long will they continue with different buzzwords and no solution at all?" questioned a resident.
The frustration of the people of Villa Clara occurs within a context of increasing deterioration of the Cuban electrical system. On July 30, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, acknowledged that there are communities that have gone up to 105 days without electricity and admitted that the country's energy crisis "does not have a short-term solution," reflecting the depth of the collapse affecting the national electrical infrastructure.
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