Mario Vives Mesa, an electrical lineman specialized and residing in the municipality of Palmira, was electrocuted on Friday in Juraguá, Cienfuegos, while participating in the construction of the new output line for the Solar Park.
His coworker, Ridier Molina León, also a specialized lineman and a resident of the same municipality, was hospitalized in intensive care following the same accident.
The Electric Company of Cienfuegos confirmed the tragedy through a statement on its social media: "Cienfuegos Electric Company deeply regrets to inform the passing of Mario Vives Mesa, specialized electrical lineman, and the hospitalization of Ridier Molina León, a colleague in the same field, both residents of the municipality of Palmira, after a workplace accident that occurred in Juraguá during the construction of the new output line for the Solar Park."
The organization added that "security and emergency protocols were immediately activated" and that it is cooperating with authorities to determine the causes of the accident. The Ministry of Energy and Mines also expressed condolences for the death of Vives Mesa through its social media.
Death occurs exactly eight days after Edisvey Rolando Pérez Rodríguez, a 32-year-old lineman from the Electric Company of Sancti Spíritus, died from electrocution in Guanabacoa, Havana, while repairing a transformer in the El Roble neighborhood. Witnesses indicated that a possible cause was an illegal connection that may have fed current back into the cable he was working on.
Both cases add to that of Osmani Rosales Núñez, an employee of the Electric Company of Cárdenas who died after receiving an electric shock in the Tenería area, Matanzas, on June 13, 2026. There have been at least three linemen fatalities due to workplace accidents this year.
These tragedies occur in the context of an unprecedented energy crisis. The Cuban electricity system operates in September 2026 with a capacity of only between 1,000 and 1,287 megawatts against a demand of 3,300 megawatts, with deficits exceeding 2,000 megawatts and blackouts affecting up to 70% of the country simultaneously.
Eleven of the sixteen thermoelectric units in the country were out of service at the beginning of September due to breakdowns or maintenance. This is further compounded by the deterioration of protective equipment, poorly maintained vehicles, and the shortage of fuel that characterize the working conditions in the sector.
The departure of qualified personnel aggravates the situation: around 15,000 people left the electric sector in 2021 and 2022 due to low wages and deteriorating working conditions, according to union statements, which has overburdened the remaining workers.
In 2025, the National Office of Statistics and Information recorded five fatalities from work accidents solely in the Electricity, Gas, and Water sector, within a national total of 38 deaths and 701 injuries, figures that indicate a systematic risk pattern that the crisis of 2026 has only deepened.
"We reiterate our firm commitment to the safety, health, and well-being of all our workers," stated the Electric Company of Cienfuegos in its announcement, a declaration that contrasts with the string of deaths that the sector has accumulated so far this year.
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