Cuban Energy Expert Attributes Power Grid Failures to System Design, Not Fuel Shortage

The renowned academic, Jorge Piñón, a frequently cited authority on Cuba's energy system, has emphasized that the recent complete failures of the National Electric System (SEN) were not technically due to a lack of fuel. The real issue, he states, lies in the disconnection of generation units within thermoelectric plants that rely on Cuban crude oil, alongside the inherent fragility of the system's interconnectivity design.

Nora Gámez Torres, a journalist for the Nuevo Herald and the Miami Herald, publicly reiterated this viewpoint, highlighting that while fuel shortages exacerbate the crisis, they do not solely account for the collapse of the electrical network.

The Real Cause of SEN's Collapse

"The total collapse of the SEN last Saturday was due to the disconnection of a generation unit at the Nuevitas thermoelectric plant. Not because of a fuel shortage!" Piñón asserted.

In his detailed explanation, Piñón pointed out that the system's interconnected design is the sole reason for the seven total blackouts Cuba has experienced over the past 16 months, introducing a crucial nuance into the ongoing debate about the island's energy crisis.

He acknowledged that the scarcity of diesel for generator groups worsens the situation, but stressed that it was not the technical cause of the complete system failures that occurred in recent weeks.

Systemic Vulnerabilities Exposed

According to Piñón, the plants involved operate with Cuban crude oil, and he noted an absence of any official comment from the Union Eléctrica (UNE) stating that any units had disconnected due to fuel shortages.

Nora Gámez summarized this stance with a public warning: "It's not difficult to accept two facts simultaneously: the oil blockade is detrimental, but it is not the technical explanation for the collapse of Cuba's electrical grid."

Piñón's argument directly targets the structural vulnerability of the SEN. The core issue, he argues, is the way thermoelectric plants are interconnected and the fragility of this generation and interconnection architecture.

From this perspective, a single significant disconnection—like the one at Nuevitas—can trigger a chain reaction capable of entirely crippling the national system.

Ongoing Power Struggles

Piñón's insistence comes at a time when Cuban authorities announced the reconnection of the SEN from Pinar del Río to Santiago de Cuba following a general outage that occurred on Saturday.

However, this reconnection did not translate into real improvement for the populace. A mere day after the national link was restored, widespread blackouts continued to affect the entire country.

The UNE itself acknowledged that despite having reestablished interconnection, a severe generation deficit persisted. On Monday at 6:00 a.m., the system's availability was 1,123 megawatts compared to a demand of 2,070 megawatts, resulting in a 950-megawatt shortfall. By noon, this deficit was expected to reach 1,100 megawatts.

The outlook for the nighttime peak was even more dire. Official data indicated an estimated availability of 1,223 megawatts against a demand of 3,050 megawatts, with the deficit projected to hit 1,827 megawatts and the impact calculated at 1,857 megawatts.

Infrastructure Failures and Fuel Myths

These figures demonstrate that even with the system reconnected, generation capacity remained far below the country's needs. Authorities attributed the crisis to a mix of breakdowns in several key thermoelectric plants—including units in Mariel, Santa Cruz, Felton, and Antonio Maceo—as well as scheduled maintenance in other facilities.

Additionally, limitations in thermal generation left more than 500 megawatts offline. This official account confirms the presence of deep infrastructure failures, although public explanations frequently mention fuel shortages.

Piñón specifically challenged this narrative, sarcastically noting that it seems "all of Cuba's 'problems' over the last twenty years have been due to the 'lack of fuel,' as a result of the US naval blockade preventing oil from entering Cuba."

In contrast to this narrative, Piñón reiterated that "the 'lack of fuel' is not the reason for the disconnections of thermoelectric plants that operate with Cuban crude."