The Cuban Electric Union (UNE) acknowledged on Saturday that nine transformers remain out of order across various communities in the Mayarí municipality of Holguín. Some of these transformers have been non-operational for over 60 days, and authorities have been unable to provide a definitive timeline for their repair.
In an official statement shared on the CAM Mayarí Facebook page and reposted by UNE, Yosvani Almira Laurencio, director of the local Electrical Base Business Unit (UEB), listed the affected areas: Levisita, El Pilón, Vuelta Larga, Serones—with two faulty units—Guaro, and Guairajal.
The transformer in Levisita was rendered unusable due to the theft of its dielectric oil, a problem that has become endemic in the region.
The official statement highlights the institutional helplessness: the local UEB lacks specialized workshops for equipment repair, necessitating the transport of damaged transformers to the provincial capital for maintenance. Replacement transformers are allocated based on a priority list managed by the Holguín Electric Company, which fails to guarantee timely service to the hardest-hit communities.
Instead of proposing solutions, the statement shifts part of the blame onto residents, claiming that keeping appliances plugged in during outages to take advantage of brief returns of power "creates demand spikes that can exceed the transformers' design capacity."
The statement also warns that connecting homes to functional transformers to compensate for broken ones "could end up damaging the equipment and increasing the number of affected families," a narrative that blames users for a structural crisis that the regime itself cannot resolve.
This rhetoric is not new. The Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, stated before the National Assembly on July 30 that dielectric oil theft occurs "daily," with some communities enduring up to 105 consecutive days without power, attributing much of the damage to user behavior.
Mayarí has a recent history of protests directly tied to this crisis. In November 2025, residents of Guairajal took to the streets—one of the communities currently without a transformer—after enduring 25 days without electricity.
In March 2026, residents of the central Guatemala area staged nighttime pot-banging protests as the municipality faced a 51-hour continuous blackout.
In June, Levisa residents protested again, prompting the Holguín Electric Company to admit its strategy involves cutting off entire municipalities to sustain priority circuits, which serve just 4.04% of customers.
The latest incident occurred in late September when women in Levisa blocked the bridge over the Cabonico River with branches and pots after nearly a month without electricity. The following day, power was restored, and 14 pounds of rice per person were distributed. A Holguín resident with family in Mayarí summed up the lesson many learned from this outcome: "It shows that you have to protest. If there's no pressure, the government doesn't act."
According to provincial electrical sector data, Holguín recorded 252 damaged transformers in the first half of 2026, a 35% increase over the same period the previous year, with 36 of 65 electrical incidents related to dielectric oil theft.
Key Questions About Mayarí's Prolonged Power Outages
What are the main causes of the prolonged power outages in Mayarí?
The primary causes include damaged transformers due to theft of dielectric oil, lack of repair facilities, and a slow priority repair list managed by the Holguín Electric Company.
How have local communities in Mayarí responded to the power outages?
Communities have organized protests, including street demonstrations and pot-banging, to pressure the government into restoring electricity and addressing the root causes of the outages.
What measures has the government taken to address the electricity crisis?
The government's response has been limited, with officials blaming user behavior and theft for the crisis, without providing concrete timelines or solutions for repairs.