The Electric Company of Cienfuegos published a reel on Facebook this weekend, showing a group of neighbors—mostly women and girls—applauding and celebrating in the street for the linemen of the José González Guerra Contingent.
The publication does not specify what specific work the linemen carried out in that area, although the context suggests the installation or repair of a transformer.
The official text accompanying the video reads: “Our linemen bring hope to the communities. Our admiration and pride go out to a team that dedicates itself to every task entrusted to them.”
The video of the bombochíe at the Electric Company has garnered over 10,700 views and has sparked an avalanche of ironic comments that contrast with the triumphalist tone of the state-owned company.
"Surely after four hours, their joy faded and they returned to the 60 hours of punishment," wrote a user. Another was more straightforward: "The medal of blackouts." A third person summarized the situation: "Misery, hunger, and a lot of joy."
The sharpest irony came from those who are experiencing the crisis firsthand. "None of those officials live in circuit 3; we have been without electricity for more than 24 hours," a neighbor reported. Another asked directly, "What are they celebrating, that here in Cienfuegos the power outages last 50, 60 hours or more?"
A resident of Cienfuegos took the opportunity to issue a warning: "Come to circuit 2 and fix the transformer that’s going to catch fire; all the oil has leaked out." Someone else summed up the feelings of many with a poignant phrase: "They've been hoping for 67 years."
Voices acknowledging the efforts of the workers were not absent, though with some nuances: "To that contingent of linemen from our province, I take my hat off. Congratulations to everyone. Now, our leaders must think about Cienfuegos, not just Havana; here, it's a disaster."
Chronic blackouts and an endless transformer crisis
Cienfuegos has been experiencing months of disruptions to its electrical system. At the end of July, a truck struck the Vietnam Substation in Aguada de Pasajeros, leaving over 9,000 customers without service. Unit 4 of the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes thermoelectric power plant has gone offline several times throughout the year.
The transformer crisis is another critical factor, not only in the southern city but throughout Cuba. The Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, acknowledged before the National Assembly that there are communities that have gone without electricity for up to 105 days due to damage to these equipment.
Regarding the theft of dielectric oil, the minister himself admitted that "the amount of oil that has been stolen from us is almost similar to what we are producing".
In Havana, an average of 25 single-phase transformers is damaged per day, with days exceeding 60 faulty units, and there are no spare parts available in the country to repair them.
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