The passage of Hurricane Ian through western Cuba accelerated the collapse of the National Electric System, which has been out of order for months. The directors of the Electric Union (UNE) described the debacle in this way: on Tuesday at 5:24 p.m., one of the two transmission cables that connected Matanzas with the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant suffered a “shot due to weather conditions.”
This caused an overload that affected the power lines in the central and eastern provinces. Minutes later, the “twin” cable of this transmission line also burst, forcing the energy flow to pass only through the Cotorro-Matanzas line.
Not being able to take on all this power, this third cable also burst, causing an imbalance: too much current in the West and too little in the East. The instability was finally resolved with the fall of the National Electric System.
As the terrifying satellite images show, the Island is in the complete blackout that it had been fearing for months.
Since then, and as the terrifying satellite images show, the Island has been in the absolute blackout I’ve been dreading it for months.
The directors of the Electric Union and the Government have exhausted their list of euphemisms, such as “exceptional condition” and “zero electricity generation”, while the director of the UNE, Lázaro Guerra, explain the situation with technical tongue twisters.
The energy catastrophe adds to the damage caused by the cyclone, which had a stronger impact on Pinar del Río, Isla de la Juventud, Artemisa, Havana and part of Mayabeque. The Government states that the only hope is the formula of “isolated microsystems with generator sets,” which have provided a few hours of electricity in 25 circuits in Havana, and some municipalities in the west and center of the country.
These generator sets are the ones that, according to the UNE, try to generate enough power to start up the Ernesto Guevara (Santa Cruz del Norte, Mayabeque), Antonio Guiteras (Matanzas), Diez de Octubre (Nuevitas, Camagüey) and Lidio Ramón Pérez thermoelectric plants. (Felton, Holguin).
So far, 224 MW have been recovered and the method of local generation through microsystems persists.
In the western region, the process of restoring the system will be “a little slower”, softens the UNE, because the hurricane destroyed an electrical line that was already in more than precarious conditions. As reported by the state company in its most recent statement, brigades from all over the country are on their way to Pinar del Río and the other western provinces.
But, at the moment, the total link that guarantees the restoration of the National Electric System is far away.
Some Cubans go to hospitals or the few places with power plants to, through bribery, charge their cell phones for an hour.
Meanwhile, the Cuban population tries to extend the battery of mobile phones as much as possible. Some go to hospitals or the few spaces with power plants to, through bribery, charge their cell phones for an hour.
The authorities have recommended keeping the breakers or general switches of houses and buildings, because even if the electrical flow is restored it would be unstable, which could be detrimental to the equipment.
Ian’s passage has been characterized by shortages and the impossibility of communication. Despite the vaunted “efforts” of the Civil Defense, the streets are still full of rubble and garbage.
However, none of this has prevented This Wednesday and the previous days, the gigantic hotel under construction known as the K Tower was fully illuminated while all the neighborhoods of the capital were plunged into the deepest darkness.
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