A fluctuation in the transmission lines caused a partial disconnection of the National Electric System (SEN) this Thursday, leaving the eastern region of Cuba without electrical service and taking three thermoelectric units out of operation.
The Electric Union (UNE) reported that due to fluctuations, the unit 1 of the Lidio Ramón Pérez Thermoelectric Power Plant, known as Felton; unit 6 of the Diez de Octubre Thermoelectric Power Plant; and unit 6 of the Antonio Maceo Thermoelectric Power Plant went out of service.
"Due to this, the provinces in the eastern region, from Holguín to Guantánamo, are disconnected from the National Electroenergetic System," stated the state-owned company in its first report on the outage.
The impact also reached Las Tunas. The state newspaper Periódico 26, citing the provincial Electric Company, confirmed that the area was without electricity service due to "fluctuations in the national grid".
Meanwhile, the Granma Electric Company also confirmed on its Telegram channel that the incident had caused a "partial disconnection" of the SEN, but that "the entire eastern region was affected."
"Due to the unexpected outage of the CTE Lidio Ramón Pérez (Felton) and the repeated fluctuations it caused, there was a partial disconnection in the National Electroenergy System, affecting the entire eastern region," the statement noted.
The Provincial Load Office of Granma has begun maneuvers to reconnect the territory with the rest of the electrical system, prioritizing the so-called vital centers.
With both reports, it was confirmed that the impact reached the entire eastern region of Cuba, from Las Tunas to Guantánamo, including Holguín, Granma, and Santiago de Cuba.
An oscillation in the electrical grid occurs when essential system parameters, such as frequency, voltage, or power flow, experience abrupt variations that disrupt the balance between generation and consumption.
If these fluctuations are strong enough, automatic protections can disconnect lines, plants, or entire areas to prevent further damage, leading to sudden generation losses and separations between different areas of the system.
Felton's departure once again has a decisive impact on a major disruption of the electrical system.
In February, another outage caused a massive blackout in the east following the shutdown of Felton and Renté, leaving Holguín, Granma, Santiago de Cuba, and Guantánamo without electricity.
Thursday's episode is not the first in 2026 where Felton's exit triggers significant fluctuations in the network.
In July, the UNE attributed another collapse of the SEN to the disconnection of unit 1 from that thermoelectric plant, and on that occasion, the agency explained that the disconnection caused an oscillation in the system parameters and a sudden change in frequency that ultimately led to its failure.
Felton has also experienced multiple outages throughout the year. In May, he went offline again just hours after syncing, during another period of significant vulnerability for the national power generation.
... News in development ...
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