“Today will be a difficult day.” With that adjective, the technical director of the Electric Union (UNE), Lázaro Guerra Hernández, commented on National Television on Thursday’s disastrous forecast, for which the largest energy deficit in recent months in Cuba is expected, equivalent to 57%. of the national generation capacity.
Towards night there will be an availability of 2,037 MW, for a demand of 3,200, which will translate into more hours without electricity. It is the second time that the generation deficit exceeds the 50% rate.
This being the case, Cubans could suffer up to twelve consecutive hours without power this Thursday, who also suffer from a careless and arbitrary programming of the cuts.
An announcement from the UNE subsidiary in Camagüey stated that during the month of September the service would be cut for two hours and another two would be restored, according to the four blocks into which the city has been divided.
The measure raised a barrage of protests and comments. “Programming is not understood by the person who wrote it”, he exploded in a Facebook direct a woman from Camagüey who said she had recently had an operation. “If we ‘behave badly’, will we return to six-hour programming?” Said the woman, referring to consumption above what is stipulated by the UNE.
“People have been complaining for five months,” he said, and he no longer supports the “ridiculous parts” of the company, which demonstrate the “continuity of shamelessness”
“People have been complaining for five months,” he said, and he no longer supports the “ridiculous parts” of the company, which demonstrate the “continuity of shamelessness.” He also mentioned the daily way in which the blackout affects the country’s professionals, who must continually calculate when they will turn off the power in their home.
He criticized the fact that the leaders organized acts to “explain” the effects, when there was nothing that the Cubans did not understand. The woman, who describes herself as a “revolutionary”, charges against the country’s authorities, responsible, in her opinion, for the current situation.
Although the Electric Union anticipates the start of the Thermoelectric Antonio Guiteras for this Friday, it is unlikely that stability can be maintained and the scheduled blackout schedules reduced.
The situation had been announced since Wednesday, where the UNE made cuts throughout the day. As usual, the peak hour continues to be at night, around 8:20 p.m., which affected 1,228 MW.
Contributing to the precariousness of thermoelectric plants is the fact that several of their units are constantly leaving the system due to breakdowns. In this situation are units 6, 7 and 8 of Mariel, in Artemisa; the 3 of Santa Cruz del Norte, in Mayabeque; the 4 of Nuevitas, in Camagüey; the 2 of the Felton, in Holguín; and 4 de la Renté, in Santiago de Cuba, which is undergoing maintenance.
Since the beginning of the year, the Island has suffered more and more frequent power outages that have triggered discontent and a new wave of popular demonstrations. Blackouts were also one of the main causes of massive protests in Nuevitas, last August. The Government, meanwhile, is confident that a normal and stable electricity service can be offered by the end of the year, a promise that is increasingly difficult to keep.
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