Cubans will continue to suffer long blackouts: “There is no short-term solution”

Madrid Spain.- The energy crisis in Cuba has no solution in the short or medium term, so Cubans will continue to suffer long blackouts during the coming months, the hottest of the year, according to an appearance this Monday by the directors of the National Electric System (SEN). in the government program Round table.

“The situation of energy system it is very complex and tense, but it has a solution; this is not immediate, it is expensive, it will not be immediate and it requires time and the importation of materials, as well as manufacturing in the country,” said Liván Arronte Cruz, Minister of Energy and Mines of Cuba.

According to his statements, the fire that occurred on July 8 in unit two of the Felton thermoelectric plant in Holguín will prevent “fulfilling the commitment planned for the summer.”

Its repair will take more than a year, as specialists have not yet been able to devise a strategy to dismantle the damaged structures.

“The solution is not yet planned. The project to dismantle the damaged parts and continue with the reconstruction of the boiler, to put it into service, is being studied,” said Edier Guzmán Pacheco, generation director of the Electric Union of Cuba (UNE).

The fire “caused damage to one of the columns of the structure, and with it the reserve planned for the summer was lost,” the information states.

The directors also referred to the limitations with fuel, on which, as usual, they blamed the North American embargo, and the increase in demand due to the increase in temperatures.

The blackouts on the Island were among the main triggers of the anti-government demonstrations on July 11, 2021. So far this year they have also caused popular protests such as the one that occurred in the University of Camaguey “Ignacio Agramonte”, where the students spent more than ten hours without power.

At midnight last Friday, hundreds of people took to the streets of the municipality of The palaces, Pinar del Río, to demand the restoration of the electrical service.

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