Energy Crisis Disrupts ETECSA's Nauta and Transfermóvil Services

This Monday, ETECSA acknowledged that the ongoing energy crisis has rendered several of its systems inoperative, significantly impacting Nauta internet services and the electronic payment platform Transfermóvil. These two digital services are among the most frequently used by Cubans on a daily basis.

In an informative notice shared on its official Facebook page, the state-owned telecommunications company warned that "currently, various systems and technological equipment are disrupted due to energy issues, causing interruptions in Nauta navigation, electronic payments through Transfermóvil, and management of associated services."

Despite these disruptions, the company assured users that mobile data navigation remains functional. ETECSA's specialists are actively exploring solutions to restore the affected services.

However, ETECSA did not provide an estimated timeline for service restoration or clarify the number of provinces or users impacted by the outage.

The company also cautioned that other institutions might experience service disruptions stemming from the same energy problems.

This announcement comes amid a particularly challenging period for Cuba's electrical grid. Reports from early Monday in Havana indicated that 62 circuits were affected, with a power deficit of 167 MW at 3:30 AM. This figure increased to 71 circuits and 169 MW just two and a half hours later.

Extreme blackouts have become routine in Cuba. Over the past 30 days, at least 23 days have seen power outages exceeding 2,000 MW, severely straining the National Electric System (SEN).

The susceptibility of telecommunications to power outages is a structural issue that ETECSA has recognized throughout 2026.

The most severe incident occurred on September 18, when the eighth nationwide blackout of the year knocked out more than 80% of radio base stations and nearly 70% of telecommunications cabinets, leading to a 58% drop in internet traffic.

Following this collapse, ETECSA faced immense pressure and made a strategic decision: to halt the expansion of its access network and focus resources on installing photovoltaic panels.

Progress in this area has been slow. By the end of September, 64 municipal centers were equipped with solar panels, primarily in Pinar del Río, Villa Clara, Matanzas, and Granma. However, this solar coverage does not guarantee continuous service.

In recent months, both Transfermóvil and Nauta have experienced service interruptions. On September 2, the payment platform was down due to SMS failures, and Nauta faced issues on August 17 following a fiber optic cut.

Adding to these challenges, ETECSA has accumulated roughly 77,000 reports of interrupted fixed services, without offering compensation to users despite a tariff increase in May 2025.

In September, the company admitted, "It is not viable to continue investing in expanding the access network without the capacity to energetically support the telecommunications infrastructure," summarizing the structural paralysis in which Cuba's state telecommunications monopoly operates.