MIAMI, United States. – The Government of Cuba presented this Tuesday a comprehensive plan to stop and reverse the energy crisis, but recognized that, in the best of cases, it will be able to ensure less than half of the country’s daily electricity demand in 2025.
The minister of the sector, Vicente de la O Levy, explained before the Industry, Construction and Energy Commission of the National Assembly that it is expected to reach an average availability of 1,400 MW, well below the more than 3,000 MW that the Island requires to cover your usual daily consumption.
According to the report released by the official media Cubadebatethe strategy aims to recover 850 MW through distributed generation and thermoelectric plants that use national fuel, which is significantly far from the total coverage required by the economy and the population.
“Recover the SEN in the shortest possible time, achieving its accelerated growth and sustainability”: that is the goal announced by De la O Levy, who stated that there is financial support for its fulfillment, despite the fact that on the same day of its presentation the deficit electric would be around 40% and, just one day later, 50%.
The program contemplates increasing renewable generation, particularly solar photovoltaic, rehabilitating electrical networks and promoting energy efficiency. All of this with its own resources, according to the official, since the use of national oil, gas, sugarcane biomass and wind energy is expected, in addition to foreign investments in solar parks.
The Island barely produces three of the eight million tons of fuel it needs, which forces it to resort to the international market.
The energy crisis of 2024, with three system collapses and blackouts of more than 20 hours a day, has increased social unrest and generated protests, which have been harshly repressed by military and paramilitary agents.
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. On the contrary, blackouts have not only continued but have worsened to date.
“We are going to have extended maintenance until the month of June to minimize the annoyance of blackouts in the summer, especially in the months of July and August,” said Díaz-Canel in the sixth episode of his podcast. From the Presidency. The governor made it clear that the total absence of blackouts could not be guaranteed: “We cannot commit to there being no blackouts. Due to the current conditions of the system, that commitment is not possible now,” he declared.
The blackouts further complicate the country’s already tense energy situation and not only deteriorate the economic performance of Cuba, which has been mired in a serious crisis for years, but have also been the trigger for anti-government protests. The most notable ones occurred on July 11, 2021the largest in decades, and most recently on March 17 in Santiago de Cuba and other locations.
