Residents of Matanzas are enduring an extensive blackout exceeding 40 hours as of this Thursday. Meanwhile, technicians at the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant are intensifying efforts to reconnect the facility to the National Electric System before Mother's Day on Sunday, May 10.
Engineer Jorge Gómez Sánchez, the Deputy Director of Production at Guiteras, informed Radio 26 that they have completed over seventy percent of the corrective measures outlined in the maintenance plan and are making promising progress, particularly in the boiler section.
Gómez Sánchez elaborated that the welding tasks on the boiler are nearly finished, with only radiographic and metallographic inspections remaining. Following these, hydraulic and pneumatic tests will confirm the quality of the work.
“If everything continues as planned, the Guiteras plant should be synchronized before Mother's Day, operating above 200 megawatts,” the specialist assured, adding that they are also using this downtime to clean the boiler.
The plant was taken offline on Tuesday, May 5, at 9:12 a.m. due to a new boiler failure, resulting in a loss of 140 MW. This marks its eighth shutdown in 2026, a telling sign of a facility that has never undergone major maintenance in its 36-year history since beginning operations in 1988.
The shutdown of the Guiteras plant has exacerbated power outages throughout Cuba to severe levels. On Thursday, the National Electric System reported an availability of just 1,370 MW against a demand of 2,850 MW, with 1,495 MW affected as of six in the morning, according to the Electric Union.
Wednesday ranked among the worst days of the year, with a peak outage of 1,874 MW occurring at 9:40 p.m., leaving residents without service for 24 hours. For Thursday night’s peak, the Electric Union forecasted a deficit of 1,850 MW and an estimated outage of 1,880 MW, nearing the record 1,945 MW outage recorded on April 1.
Matanzas: The Most Electrically Impacted Province
Matanzas is officially the province suffering the most severe electrical disruption, with an average demand of 238 MW and the highest potential outage of any province: 174 MW spread across 123 circuits.
Kenny Cruz González, the Technical Deputy Director of the Matanzas Electric Company, confirmed to TV Yumurí: “It’s noteworthy because repeatedly, circuits experience over 40 hours of outages, and when reviewing other provinces, they don’t have such high outage rates or hours.”
Ironically, Matanzas hosts the Guiteras plant, yet its generated power is fed into the national grid without directly benefiting the province.
Fuel Shortages Worsen Crisis
The root cause of this crisis is a dire fuel shortage. The only significant shipment in 2026 was delivered by the Russian tanker Anatoli Kolodkin, which docked in Matanzas on March 31 with approximately 730,000 barrels donated by Moscow, reserves that are now depleted.
President Miguel Díaz-Canel acknowledged on May 2 to international solidarity delegates: “This oil is running out these days, and we do not know when more fuel will arrive in Cuba.”
A second Russian vessel, the Universal, carrying about 270,000 barrels of diesel, remains adrift in the Atlantic approximately 1,600 km from Cuba without a confirmed destination, partly due to U.S. sanctions pressure. Meanwhile, blackouts in Cuba continue to worsen with no immediate relief in sight.
Understanding Cuba's Energy Challenges
Why are power outages so frequent in Matanzas?
Matanzas experiences frequent power outages due to its high demand and the failure of the Guiteras plant to provide direct benefits to the province, as well as a national fuel shortage exacerbating the issue.
What are the main challenges facing the Antonio Guiteras plant?
The Antonio Guiteras plant faces significant challenges, including frequent boiler failures and a lack of major maintenance for over three decades, which contribute to its unreliability.
How does the fuel shortage impact Cuba's energy grid?
Cuba's energy grid is heavily impacted by fuel shortages, leading to reduced electricity production and increased blackouts across the country, as there is insufficient fuel to meet demand.