A resident of Manatí, in Las Tunas, reported this Friday that her community has been without electricity for more than 24 consecutive hours every day, a situation that, she claimed, has worsened in recent weeks without any response from the authorities.
Lili Romero, who has repeatedly reported the electrical crisis in the municipality, described the extent of the power outages in a video posted on her Facebook profile.
"We here in Manatí have been experiencing a blackout for over 24 hours now; it's the same story every day. It's no longer just 20 hours, it's 24 hours and more of daily blackouts," he said.
The report indicates a worsening situation compared to previous reports from Romero herself. At the beginning of September, she documented more than 22 hours without electricity and, days later, stated that the municipality received only an hour and 45 minutes of power each day.
The resident also questioned how Manatí has the infrastructure to produce solar energy while its inhabitants go entire days without electricity.
"We don't understand why, if we have a photovoltaic renewable energy park out there, why doesn't it work for the municipality?" she asked.
A commentator explained that the photovoltaic parks are connected to the National Electric System and that their production supports the system as a whole, rather than being exclusively allocated to the municipality where they are located.
Romero also questioned the explanations given to justify the electric crisis. According to his complaint, when there is oil, the problems are attributed to a lack of spare parts for the thermal power plants, and when there is no sun, the natural conditions are blamed. "There is always a justification for the unjustifiable... we are already dying, gentlemen," he stated.
The comments posted alongside the video show that the prolonged outages are also affecting other areas in Las Tunas.
Residents of Manatí reported that when electricity returns, it lasts less than an hour, sometimes not even enough time to charge a phone.
From Güáimaro, in the neighboring province of Camagüey, a commentator stated that after 46 hours without electricity, they had only received two hours of service.
Another person lamented the consequences for the children, particularly the difficulties they face in sleeping during power outages and then attending school afterward.
Other users defended Romero against those who criticize his complaints. "If everyone spoke up, things would be different. It's not a complaint; it's a demand for the basic rights that the people deserve for life," wrote one commentator.
Solar photovoltaic generation provides partial relief and is exclusively daytime. On Wednesday, solar parks produced 3,343 MWh, with a maximum output of 520 MW at noon.
The eastern province has eight completed solar photovoltaic parks and a theoretical installed capacity of 64.8 megawatts, but this infrastructure barely manages to ensure an average of two and a half hours of electricity daily for its municipalities, acknowledged at the end of August Anisley Santiesteban Velázquez, general director of the Electric Company of Las Tunas.
Despite the expansion of photovoltaic installations, residents of Las Tunas continue to face blackouts that last for much of the day, amid a national electricity crisis with generation deficits exceeding 2,300 MW this year.
While the government boasts about the infrastructure established from renewable energy sources, this capacity does not compensate for the failures of the thermal system nor does it meet the nighttime demand, which is when blackouts become more intense.
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