According to the Electrical Union (UNE), 60% of the country’s circuits have already been recovered.
MIAMI, United States. – An “oscillation” in the National Electrical System (SEN) caused this Thursday a partial disconnection of the service in Cuba, according to official statements published on Facebook by the Electrical Union of Cuba (UNE) and the Electric Company of Havana (EELH).
At 1:24 pm, the UNE reported: “As a result of an oscillation, a partial disconnection of the SEN has occurred. Work is already underway on its total recovery, which should occur in a short time.” Later, at 2:16 pm, accurate: “After the load oscillation in the SEN, the affected circuits begin to be restored. The causes that caused the damage are investigated.” And at 2:38 p.m. updated: “Current situation of the SEN after the oscillation that occurred: Operating in a stable and complete manner. 60% of the affected circuits have been recovered and the restoration continues.”
The Electric Company of Havana linked the event with the Felton Thermoelectric Power Plant: “After Felton’s load drop, a DAF trip originated, which affects the Plaza, Tropical, Príncipe and Naranjito Substations, affecting a significant number of circuits.”
The entity added that it was working to clarify the causes that caused “the unforeseen event,” and urged the population to “stay abreast of the information issued by our company, through the official channels of Telegram, WhatsApp, ToDus and the X and Facebook platforms.
The new incident occurs after a particularly unstable year for the SEN. Cuba has suffered five total disconnections from the system in less than 12 months: on October 18, November 6 and December 4, 2024, in addition to March 14 and September 10 of this year. In the case of September, the trigger was once again the unforeseen departure of the “Antonio Guiteras” Thermoelectric Power Plant (CTE).
Outside of general collapses, Havana and other provinces have suffered extended outages due to substation tripping and thermal unit outages, including Felton itself, as well as recent episodes of massive blackouts in the capital due to faults in lines and substations, according to media coverage and testimonies collected by the press.
Earlier this month, nuclear engineer Pelayo Calante warned, in interview with CubaNetthat the chain of failures in the SEN had structural causes and that it will persist as long as there is no large-scale investment in repair and maintenance.
“What is happening in Cuba is (…) like the perfect storm,” he stated. In his opinion, the lack of fuel “is not to blame for the system collapsing.”
Calante, trained at the Moscow Energy Institute and knowledgeable about the Cuban thermoelectric and nuclear sector, stated that he visited the plants as a professor and researcher. Based on that experience, he listed the accumulated deterioration due to the absence of preventive and predictive maintenance as the main cause: “There has not been maintenance planning, they have not spent the money necessary to replace, substitute or repair the plants at the appropriate time.”
Although he recalled that, even with up-to-date care plans, breakdowns can occur, he stressed that today key routines such as vibration diagnosis to anticipate failures are not practiced.
The specialist added that, in addition to generation, the transmission and distribution network presents “many problems.” In addition, he emphasized the exodus of qualified personnel as an aggravating factor: “There has been a huge exodus of human personnel, of engineers (…) and qualified workers,” to the point that many technicians have left the sector for better-paid jobs outside the industry, as he explained.
Regarding what to expect, Calante stated that the collapses will continue. Although he ruled out a permanent blackout—“let Cuba be paid for forever”—he warned that interruptions will be more frequent. In short, he does not see a solution in the short or medium term without changes in course: to the question of whether the definitive solution involves a democratic transition and a government focused on the needs of the population, he responded: “100% agreement.”
