Vicente de la O Levy, the Cuban Minister of Energy and Mines, addressed the recent total disconnection of the National Power System (SEN) on Monday with a "message of resilience" shared on social media. He stated, "We persist in restoring our Electrical System, overcoming all types of challenges amidst a complete energy blockade, with great determination and commitment."
The minister's "optimistic" declaration comes during one of the most challenging periods for Cuba's electrical system this year. As the nation struggled to recover from its sixth total blackout of the year—occurring on Sunday at 10:43 PM—a frequency fluctuation once again toppled the SEN on Monday afternoon, plunging millions of Cubans back into darkness.
The Electric Union (UNE) blamed this latest disconnection on adverse weather conditions. "During the process of restoring the SEN, existing meteorological events caused disruptions to the grid, directly affecting the generating units that were online," the state-run company explained in a statement posted on Facebook.
Fragile Recovery and Impact on Telecommunications
The recovery preceding this new collapse was extremely tenuous. Havana woke up on Monday with only 14% of the electricity supply restored: 87,480 customers and 78.51 MW, with 12 substations and 29 circuits energized, prioritizing 19 hospitals and two water pumps.
In this context of minimal recovery, the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant began a cold start at 10:17 AM, with expectations to synchronize with the SEN by nightfall.
The electrical crisis also affected telecommunications. The Cuban Telecommunications Company (ETECSA) reported disruptions to the mobile phone service nationwide following the breakdown of the generator supporting one of its main centers, impacting prefixes 52, 509, 598, and 599.
Understanding Cuba's Power and Telecommunications Crisis
What caused the recent blackout in Cuba?
The recent blackout was attributed to a frequency fluctuation in the National Power System (SEN) exacerbated by adverse weather conditions.
How is the electrical crisis affecting telecommunications in Cuba?
The electrical crisis has disrupted telecommunications, with the breakdown of a generator impacting ETECSA's mobile services, affecting several prefixes nationwide.