The Electric Union (UNE) published an extensive statement regarding the thermal maintenance plan scheduled for the period of September to December 2026 on its official Facebook page this Wednesday, and the response from Cubans was immediate: mass incredulity, sarcasm, and the already well-known expression "not even the tale of the good pipe".
The text from the state-owned company acknowledges that failures and defects "that should have been permanently resolved remain unresolved or reoccur frequently, accumulating technical problems in the units."
As the main reason, the statement points to the U.S. embargo, which—according to the UNE—has "severely limited the financial possibilities" of the company and hindered the acquisition of parts, components, and materials for maintenance.
Among the most notable announcements is the mention of "preparatory work" for the major capital maintenance of the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, the largest in the country, located in Matanzas, although the statement does not include any specific date.
This omission is significant. La Guiteras, inaugurated in 1988, has not received major maintenance since 2010. The government promised that maintenance would take place by the end of 2025; in December of that year, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, postponed it due to a "technical and risk-related situational issue."
In April 2026, it was announced again, also without a date. Now the new statement repeats the formula: "preparatory work," without verifiable commitments.
The plant director, Román Pérez Castañeda, acknowledged in May 2026 that the power plant needs at least 180 days of downtime and the replacement of around 500 tubes and between 1,000 and 1,200 welding cords. During this year, the plant accumulated between 17 and 20 unscheduled outages.
The context in which this statement arrives exacerbates distrust. This Wednesday, Cuba recorded a available generation of only 1,105 MW against a demand of 2,890 MW, with a projected deficit of 2,195 MW.
On August 5, a record deficit of 2,411 MW was reached, the highest in the history of the Cuban energy crisis. Two days earlier, the National Electric System (SEN) experienced its sixth total disconnection of the year, which was also confirmed by Reuters and Bloomberg Línea.
The UNE warns in its statement that between September and December "there may be a coinciding maintenance or breakdown of several machines," and presents this scenario as an "important window" to progress in the recovery of the system, taking advantage of the potential seasonal decline in winter demand.
For Cubans who have been enduring daily blackouts lasting between 16 and 20 hours for months, that technical and optimistic language is hard to swallow.
The expression "the tale of the good pipe" —a popular phrase that describes an endless story that goes nowhere— had already been widely used in July to respond to the statements by the Minister of Energy regarding the collapses of the SEN, and it is resonating strongly again with a new announcement that offers no dates or guarantees.
The pattern repeats: UNE announces plans, attributes the problems to the embargo, and promises improvements without concrete deadlines. The population, exhausted, responds with the same disbelief as always.
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