A resident of circuit 1242, in the Playa municipality of Havana, reported this Saturday that their area is experiencing power outages for more than 20 hours while the streetlights remain on throughout the day in a neighboring circuit.
The complaint was published in the Facebook group "Electric Company of Havana," which shares the name of the state entity, although it is a user-created space and not an official page of the Electric Company.
The resident accompanied their complaint with an image of a streetlight on during broad daylight at the intersection of 19 and 48 in Playa, a location they identified as part of circuit 1244, adjacent to 1242.
"While circuits in Playa like 1242 have to endure blackouts of over 20 hours, other circuits bordering ours, like 1244, remain on practically all the time," he wrote.
The user questioned why, even amidst the generation deficit, some circuits seem to be exempt from electrical restrictions while others endure prolonged outages and then receive only a few hours of service afterward.
"This means that for some there are privileges even in the face of generation deficits, while others like us at 1242 have to pay for the consumption of untouchable circuits and endure the abuse of so many hours of outages, only to receive a meager few hours of electricity afterwards," he denounced.
The resident clarified that he does not intend for the electricity supply to be interrupted for those who have it, but he demands a distribution that he considers more equitable. "We certainly don't want anyone to lose their power, but we also don't want to be made fools of, they are already showing their true colors," he concluded.
The publication adds to other complaints from residents of Playa regarding the differences in blackout durations between nearby circuits. The claims have also raised questions about the lack of public information on the criteria used to determine which areas receive electricity for longer periods.
The complaint arises in a context of severe restrictions in the National Electric System. On Monday, the floating power plant Erol Bey, operated by the Turkish company Karpowership, departed permanently from the port of Havana. With its departure, Cuba lost 63 megawatts of installed capacity at the worst possible time, as the country has experienced eight total collapses of the electrical system this year and endures blackouts exceeding 20 hours daily in the capital.
In July, the Electric Company stopped organizing block outages and switched to managing them by circuits. Since then, citizen complaints have reported discrepancies in the distribution of the power cuts and possible favoritism, while the authorities have not published the detailed prioritization criteria requested by those affected.
The Secretary of Organization of the PCC, Roberto Morales Ojeda, admitted in July that there are reports of "misconduct" in the electric sector, although he attributed them to "four or five" workers.
Citizens, however, do not see it as a minor problem: "What we have with this circuit is corruption," declared a resident of 1242 in the comments of the post.
In August, resident Elizabeth González Aznar demanded that the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, publish the list of prioritized circuits and the selection criteria. "Is that information secret? Why can't the people know what those prioritized circuits are?" she argued.
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