The Cuban electrical system closes August on the verge of its worst historical mark: the Electricity Union forecasts for this Monday a disruption of 2,410 MW during peak hours, just one megawatt below the record of 2,411 MW set on August 11, which means leaving around 73% of the country without electricity simultaneously.
The day on Sunday was equally devastating. According to the official report, "yesterday the service was affected due to a capacity deficit for 24 hours, and the impact continued throughout the early morning," with a real peak of 2,296 MW at 10:40 PM.
The forecast for the nighttime peak this Monday indicates a near-total collapse of generating capacity: the system will have only 910 MW available against a projected maximum demand of 3,300 MW, a historically significant gap.
The situation of the thermoelectric plants is critical. Units 5, 6, and 8 of the Máximo Gómez thermoelectric plant in Mariel are out of service; unit 2 of the Ernesto Guevara de la Serna thermoelectric plant in Santa Cruz; unit 2 of the Lidio Ramón Pérez thermoelectric plant in Felton; and unit 6 of the Antonio Maceo thermoelectric plant in Renté are also down.
These breakdowns are joined by units under maintenance: unit 3 of Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, units 5 and 6 of Antonio Maceo, and unit 5 of the Diez de Octubre thermoelectric plant in Nuevitas.
Distributed generation also does not provide relief. "106 distributed generation plants are out of service due to unavailability of fuel," the report states, which also confirms the shutdown of the Patana de Regla, the Patana de Melones, the Central Fuel in Mariel, and the Central Fuel in Moa.
The photovoltaic solar parks generated 4,331 MW/hour on Sunday, with a maximum output of 673 MW, a contribution that is insufficient to offset the accumulated thermal deficit.
The end of August solidifies a summer of successive records. The escalation began with 2,341 MW on July 8, continued with 2,380 MW on July 29, and reached its peak with 2,411 MW at the beginning of August.
The month also witnessed at least the sixth total collapse of the National Electric System of the year, recorded on August 2, with nationwide disconnections that left entire provinces in the dark for days.
The deterioration is due to structural causes that have accumulated over decades: extreme aging of the thermoelectric infrastructure, chronic fuel shortages, lack of spare parts, and sustained underfunding of the energy sector under the Cuban dictatorship.
According to the historical record of outages of the SEN, 2026 has recorded at least seven total system outages, making this year the most critical in the recent electrical history of the island.
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