The Antonio Guiteras Thermal Power Plant, the largest electricity generation facility in Cuba, was reconnected to the National Electroenergetic System (SEN) at 04:36 this Wednesday, as confirmed by the Electric Union (UNE) on its page.
The news is hardly encouraging: the previous reconnection, which occurred on Monday at 10:06 PM, lasted only 24 hours before the plant went down again at 10:11 PM on Tuesday, due to "causes yet to be identified," according to UNE itself.
In that brief window, the general director of the facility, Román A. Pérez Castañeda, reported that the plant was generating approximately 150 MW, significantly below its nominal capacity of 316 MW.
Only in October, the "Guiteras" has reported outages on the 4th, 9th, and 14th. The latest failure affected the economizer of the boiler and caused additional damage to the low-temperature reheater. Between the 15th and 17th, technicians replaced 11 tube segments and conducted hydraulic and pneumatic tests before attempting reconnection on Monday.
So far in 2026, the plant has accumulated numerous unscheduled outages, including an incident in July where it was connected for only 26 minutes.
Inaugurated in 1988, the facility has been in operation for over 38 years without having received major maintenance since 2010. A comprehensive repair would require replacing more than 500 tubes, executing between 1,000 and 1,200 weld seams, and a planned shutdown of at least 180 days.
Citizens' skepticism regarding each new reconnection is complete. The comments on the UNE's post reflect exhaustion: "A sneeze and zap," wrote a user.
Another was more straightforward: “The Guiteras is the living image of the system. Completely failed.” A third, with apparent technical knowledge, warned: “It is better to fix everything properly and make a lasting start than to keep patching things up.”
The energy background is one of structural collapse. On Tuesday, the Cuban electrical system had only 920 MW available against a demand of 2,820 MW, with a projected deficit of 1,850 MW. Locations in Matanzas such as Manuelito, Bolondrón, and Unión de Reyes experienced more than 70 hours without electricity in recent days, while some circuits in Pinar del Río accumulated over 90 hours in the dark.
The electrical crisis is also affecting the water supply: the regime admitted that 2.5 million Cubans —32% of those who receive water through networks— have their service interrupted, with 88% of the incidents attributed to electrical problems. The desperation has led to spontaneous protests in Artemisa, Granma, and Cienfuegos.
On October 17, while the "Guiteras" was out of service, the UNE referred to it as “the largest and most efficient unit block in Cuba”, a statement that sparked a wave of ridicule on social media.
After the announcement of the strike this Tuesday, a user's response summed up the public sentiment: "'Pending causes'... hahaha, this sounds like the title of a novel. It's a shame that what the people are experiencing is more like a series, but one of TERROR."
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