Havana Reports 168 Power Outages by Late Afternoon on October 31

As of 6:05 PM on Saturday, October 31, Havana's Electric Company reported that 168 distribution circuits were impacted due to a power generation shortfall in the capital, resulting in a 385 MW deficit, according to data from CiberCuba's Blackout Observatory.

This snapshot of the evening was not the day's most critical moment; earlier, in the early hours, the capital experienced a more severe impact with 460 MW and 195 circuits affected. By 9:32 AM, the figures had decreased to 234 MW with 102 circuits impacted.

Among the longest outages documented at the same time, the R461 and R464 circuits in Regla municipality each endured 25 hours and 16 minutes of disruption, attributed to the generation shortfall as per the electric company's reports.

The R461 circuit services areas around Maceo Street and 27 de Noviembre Street in Regla, whereas the R464 circuit covers Reparto Modelo, Alturas de Vía Blanca, Habana Nueva, La Cotorra, and Villa 1, with some extensions in Guanabacoa.

The Observatory's records note the accumulated outages at the time of the report, without specifying whether there were any interim restorations or if the circuits were still down at the time of publication.

This Saturday's report comes amid a prolonged week of electrical crisis. On Friday, October 30, Havana reported 173 circuits affected and 355 MW at 6:00 AM, with the VC100 circuit in Arroyo Naranjo enduring 64 hours and six minutes without electricity.

Nationally, the week saw provincial disconnections from the National Electric System: Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo on October 25, Granma on the 26th, Pinar del Río on the 27th for 46 minutes, and Guantánamo again on the 30th.

The Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant—the largest in the country, located in Matanzas—went offline on October 27 due to low vacuum in the condenser; an inspection revealed three simultaneous failures in the boiler. The Electric Union's report on October 31 noted 668 MW of limitations in thermoelectric generation, with several units out of service at different plants across the country.

For the peak consumption period on Saturday, the Electric Union forecasted only 1,020 MW available against a demand of 2,800 MW, estimating an impact of 1,810 MW, although this was a projection and not a confirmed result at the time of the report.

The CiberCuba Blackout Observatory documents what state electric companies report and does not independently verify the data. As highlighted by the events of October 31, Cuba ended the month with a crisis marked by prolonged power outages, thermoelectric plant breakdowns, and failures in provincial interconnection lines.