Five days after the blackout that left half the country without electricity, a large part of Cuba is again disconnected, now from Matanzas to Guantánamo, without knowing the causes, according to what the Unión Eléctrica (UNE) reported this Saturday. In addition, reports come to 14ymedio that in some parts of Havana there is no electricity either.
“There is an affectation from the province of Matanzas to Guantánamo, so far the causes are being investigated,” he published in a brief statement in Facebook the UNE, to which post again eliminated the option to comment, due to the harsh criticism that the company receives from Cubans, tired of so many power cuts. “Once the failure has been clarified, it will be reported in a timely manner,” he adds.
This Thursday, in a long speech on the Round Table program dedicated to explaining for the umpteenth time the bankruptcy of the energy system, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, warned that they have increased up to three hours scheduled blackouts throughout the Island, although it could be even more due to the precarious situation of the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, disconnected since last Thursday.
“There is an affectation from the province of Matanzas to Guantanamo, so far the causes are being investigated”
The official warned that every time this plant located in Matanzas, the largest on the island, leaves the system, the times of electrical cuts will increase. “That will continue to happen and then there will be more than three hours of damage. Although there have been days without Felton and without Guiteras and with less than three hours of blackout,” he recalled.
Last Monday, a fire in a sugarcane field caused the disconnection of the National Electric System (SEN) that affected half of Cuba from the center to the east of the Island. The blackout from Ciego de Ávila to Guantánamo occurred around 2 in the afternoon and lasted until 9 at night.
Three days later, “an electrical failure in the use of the plant” put Antonio Guiteras out of service. With this problem, there were five power plants that present “breakdowns”, the others are units 6 and 7 of CTE Mariel (Artemisa), unit 4 of CTE Nuevitas (Camagüey), units 1 and 2 of Felton (Holguín ), and units 4 and 6 of the CTE Renté (Santiago de Cuba), which “are under maintenance.”
On September 27, 2022, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, the SEN completely collapsed and the country was left in the dark for several hours. It was the culmination of a summer of blackouts that exceeded 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. at times and sparked almost daily protests in a multitude of municipalities.
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