The ongoing power crisis in Cuba has plunged the nation into darkness once again, with a nationwide generation shortfall exceeding 1,800 megawatts and extended outages affecting nearly every province, as reported by Cuba's National Electric Company (UNE).
The state-run enterprise revealed that the electricity service was disrupted for over 20 hours on Wednesday due to a capacity shortfall, and it couldn't be fully restored by the early hours of Thursday. By 6:20 PM the previous day, the deficit had reached 1,824 MW, surpassing expectations following unexpected shutdowns at the Santa Cruz del Norte and Holguín thermal power plants.
In the eastern region, a fault on Wednesday night at the Holguín 220 kV substation disconnected the power grid across the eastern provinces, leaving Granma, Santiago de Cuba, and Guantánamo without electricity and partially affecting Holguín. This incident was linked to the outages of units 1 and 5 at the Felton and Renté plants, alongside the engines in Moa.
Havana's Electric Company also reported significant disruptions in the capital, with entire blocks out of service and outages lasting up to 10 hours throughout the day. "If the situation in the National Electric System (SEN) does not improve, we anticipate affecting blocks and circuits due to Energy Contingency without a set schedule," warned the company.
Persistent Energy Crisis
The current energy landscape follows what seemed like a brief reprieve announced on Wednesday, when UNE slightly reduced its blackout forecast to 1,540 MW from the 1,850 MW anticipated the previous day. However, this relief was short-lived as new faults caused a massive blackout in the east, nearly collapsing the system once more.
The recent pattern confirms a continuous trend of failures and a structural deficit in power generation, despite the partial return of the Antonio Guiteras plant, which is operating at low capacity.
Coinciding with the worsening power situation, Miguel Díaz-Canel announced a special address scheduled for Thursday morning, sparking hundreds of reactions on social media. Many questioned how they could watch the presidential message when much of the country was without power. "Whoever has electricity can watch," summarized one of the most shared comments.
The escalation of the energy crisis unfolds amid a national economic downturn, fuel and food shortages, inflation, and rising social unrest. UNE has not provided any timeline for service normalization nor explained the technical causes of the latest breakdowns.
Meanwhile, the population continues to endure long power outages amid high temperatures, with no immediate solution on the horizon.
Understanding Cuba's Electrical Crisis
What is causing the massive blackouts in Cuba?
The blackouts are primarily due to a significant shortfall in power generation capacity, compounded by unexpected shutdowns at key thermal power plants and structural issues within the electrical system.
How are the blackouts affecting daily life in Cuba?
The blackouts are leading to prolonged power outages, disrupting daily activities, causing discomfort due to high temperatures, and exacerbating existing economic and social challenges in the country.
Is there any plan to resolve the power crisis in Cuba?
As of now, the National Electric Company has not provided a clear plan or timeline for resolving the power crisis, leaving the population in uncertainty about when normal service might resume.