SAN LUIS POTOSÍ, Mexico.- The Electrical Union has asked Cubans to save electricity when they barely have access to electrical service, since blackouts abound in Cuba and in many provinces only three hours of electricity are offered every nine without it.
The Electric Company of Havana, Villa Clara and Guantánamo have left explicit messages on their Telegram channels to the users of this social network: “Save!”
“The population is asked to apply saving measures in order to reduce energy consumption in the province, avoid overloads in the electrical networks and reduce service interruptions,” the Havana state company wrote on social networks.
It would seem that the Government is abdicating its responsibility to offer this basic service to the population. Without assuming his role because he does not know how to manage the crisis, he chooses to ask Cubans to save even the smallest amount without explaining possible solutions for the blackouts.
For its part, the company’s headquarters in Guantánamo urged people to take advantage of daylight to carry out household chores and avoid electricity consumption. However, this publication does not consider the millions of Cubans who depend on electricity for cooking because they are not supplied with gas for food preparation either.
The Electrical Union (UNE) of Cuba advertisement that the blackouts will simultaneously cover almost 51% of the national territory during peak hours (afternoon-night) this Thursday. The impact on the electrical service exceeds that of previous days and marks a historical record at least since the call Special Period.
The UNE indicated that the interruptions of the electrical service are due to the lack of fuel and breakdowns in the units of the operational terrestrial thermoelectric plants.
“50 distributed generation plants, the Mariel lake, the CDE Mariel, the Regla lake, 11 engines from the Melones lake and the Santiago de Cuba lake are out of service due to fuel,” the state company stated.
Specifically, for this Thursday the UNE calculates a maximum electricity generation capacity of 1,692 megawatts (MW) and a demand of up to 3,300 MW, for a deficit of 1,608 MW.
However, the impact (what will actually be disconnected) will reach 1,678 MW during peak hours on October 17, the UNE specified.
In May of this year, the Cuban ruler, Miguel Diaz-Canelsaid the country would experience “prolonged” power outages until June due to maintenance work on the energy system. This measure, according to authorities, seeks to reduce interruptions during the months of July and August, when consumption is highest.
Currently, in October, the effects far exceed those recorded in previous months.