Cuban Woman's Home Appliances Destroyed by Sudden Power Surge: "I Can't Take It Anymore"

A resident of Havana reported on Friday that a power outage at 6:30 a.m., followed by the service restoring just six minutes later, resulted in a voltage surge that damaged several appliances in her home. "I can't take it anymore," she repeated tearfully while showing the damage and smoke that, she claims, started emanating from various devices, as seen in a video posted by Miladys Márquez Chávez.

According to her account, the television, refrigerator, split air conditioner, fans, and lamps were all rendered useless. The woman claims that even the voltage protectors and transformers for the refrigerators "caught fire" when the power returned. "It was a 440, a 480... I don't know," she said, describing the electrical spike.

In the video, the affected woman points to a "phase" cable fallen from a transformer and blames the "poor workmanship" of the local electrical company for the incident. "Who's going to pay for all this?" she asks, noting that she has already reported the issue and is waiting for the company truck to inspect. Several neighbors reportedly heard the explosion and came over as witnesses, she adds.

The complainant states that since the transformer was installed about five months ago, she has received exorbitant bills (ranging from 6,000 to 8,000 pesos monthly), even though "very little electricity is used in the house." She has been visiting the commercial office for months without inspectors showing up. "I call them, and they don't come," she insists.

The video further highlights the decline in services: the woman claims she has been without water for a month, showing an empty cistern and blaming Aguas de La Habana for the lack of resolution. "No one takes responsibility here," she says, linking the water scarcity and electrical instability to material losses and everyday disruptions.

"I'm a retired woman... they've ruined my life," she laments, emphasizing that someone should be held accountable for the damages. The house, she narrates, was left in darkness because even the lights failed after the event. "How much longer?" she repeats.

The post, which has amassed over 41,000 views and 500 reactions, serves as yet another example of the systemic crisis facing the Cuban people. This Friday, the Cuban electrical system is experiencing one of its most critical days, with expected disruptions exceeding 1,600 megawatts (MW) during peak evening hours, according to the Cuban Electric Union (UNE).

The current state of the National Electric System (SEN) is exacerbated by a breakdown in Unit 2 of the CTE Felton, maintenance work on Units 1 and 2 of the CTE Santa Cruz, and Unit 4 of the CTE Carlos Manuel de Céspedes in Cienfuegos, in addition to thermal limitations that keep 492 MW out of service. Furthermore, the absence of fuel and lubricants affects 56 distributed generation plants (with 460 MW out of service) and leaves another 153 MW unavailable, bringing the total impact from this cause to 624 MW.

The disruptions to Cuba's electrical service continue with no clear solution in sight. Maintenance limitations, technical failures, and fuel shortages affect not only power generation but also the daily lives of citizens, who endure entire days without electricity.