Cuba's Energy Crisis Deepens: Havana Faces Extended Blackouts

A fresh wave of power outages swept across Havana and other regions on Saturday due to a disruption in the 9020-9015 lines connecting the Naranjito and Melones substations, resulting in an explosion at the Talla Piedra substation. The capital city faced electricity cuts lasting over eight hours, with a peak shortfall of 108 MW at 7:00 p.m., as reported by the Havana Electric Company (EELH).

Compounding the issue, the unexpected shutdown of the Felton 1 unit at 11:40 p.m. increased the shortfall to 120 MW. Power restoration efforts began at 1:04 a.m., but it wasn't until 3:46 a.m. that the full outage was resolved. While EELH had initially planned to cut power to blocks 2, 5, 6, and 1 at different times on Saturday, they ultimately did not proceed with these interruptions. However, the company has warned that future outages will depend on the behavior of the National Electric System (SEN).

Neither the Havana Electric Company nor the Union Electric Company has provided new details about the explosion at the Talla Piedra substation. They have only confirmed that service has been restored to affected areas in the capital.

Nationwide Energy Shortfall

The issues in Havana reflect a broader national crisis. The Union Electric Company indicated that the SEN is experiencing critical levels across the country. On Saturday, the nation endured continuous power disruptions, with a peak shortfall of 1,584 MW at 7:00 p.m. By 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, national availability was just 1,480 MW against a demand of 2,520 MW, leaving 1,029 MW unmet. The shortfall is expected to rise to 1,300 MW by midday.

Causes Behind the Collapse

Several factors are contributing to the system's collapse, including:

• Mechanical failures in units 1 and 2 of the Felton Power Plant, unit 8 of Mariel, and unit 3 of Renté.
• Scheduled maintenance on unit 2 of Santa Cruz del Norte and unit 4 of Cienfuegos.
• Thermal limitations resulting in 422 MW being offline.
• Fuel shortages leading to 47 distributed generation plants being shut down, affecting an additional 285 MW, along with 327 MW unavailable due to lubricant shortages. In total, 612 MW are impacted solely by fuel shortages.

Insufficient Solar Power

Despite efforts to diversify the energy mix, the 32 photovoltaic solar parks contributed just 2,443 MWh during the day, with a peak output of 318 MW, which is far from sufficient to meet the projected national demand of 3,250 MW during Sunday's evening peak.

The government anticipates that the activation of unit 3 of the Cienfuegos power plant will add a mere 70 MW, predicting a 1,680 MW shortfall during peak hours and a potential impact of up to 1,750 MW if conditions do not improve.

Endless Blackouts Fuel Public Frustration

Long and frequent blackouts have become an everyday occurrence in Cuba. The aging electrical infrastructure, fuel shortages, deteriorating power plants, and weak renewable generation capacity exacerbate a crisis that worsens daily. Meanwhile, citizens continue to voice their dissatisfaction on social media over the lack of effective responses from authorities.