The electrical crisis in Cárdenas, Matanzas, suffered another severe blow: the Smith Comas substation is now completely out of service after being hit by a lightning strike, a damage that further complicates the already delicate situation in the municipality.
According to Telebandera, the provincial group responsible for monitoring substations in Matanzas assessed the damaged transformers at the Calvo and Salud substations, as well as at Smith Comas.
The technical report confirmed that, at this last point, the transformer and the rest of the devices were completely disabled by the discharge.
The damage at Smith Comas is especially severe because that substation ensures the electrical supply to the batey and the network of wells that provide water to the city of Cárdenas.
The severity of the breakdown makes it the most critical case in the current landscape, in a context also characterized by the scarcity of such transformers in the country.
The official update also provided new information about the Calvo and Salud substation, whose disruption had previously been reported due to the theft of dielectric oil.
This time, the technical report confirmed that all the oil was stolen from the transformer at that location, which worsens the damage following the new sabotage of the electric system in Cárdenas.
According to the information released, the solution for the Calvo and Salud station could arrive within the next 72 hours, while the situation at Smith Comas is much more complex due to the extent of the destruction caused by the lightning strike.
The Provincial Electric Company and the Territorial OBE of Cárdenas assured that they are working to resolve these damages as quickly as possible, although they acknowledged that the lack of transformers in Cuba complicates any rapid response.
The deterioration and attacks on transformers have been reported in various provinces. Last Wednesday, it was revealed that more than 90 transformers in Matanzas had been affected by dielectric oil thefts, while authorities intensified the penal treatment of these incidents by processing them as sabotage.
The shortage of replacement equipment has also turned every breakdown into a difficult problem to solve.
In Mayarí, Holguín, more than 20,000 people were left without electricity after the theft of oil from a transformer that was completely damaged. The authorities then acknowledged that they did not have another unit in the province to replace it immediately.
Also in August, the authorities of Mayabeque dismantled a gang of six people dedicated to stealing transformer oil in Güines and Melena del Sur.
According to the information released, the individuals were climbing the poles, tampering with the equipment, and extracting the liquid with hoses to transport it in plastic containers, a practice that had left communities without electricity and water for days.
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