After two weeks of the devastating scourge of Hurricane Melissa In the east of the country, the municipalities of Río Cauto and Cauto Cristo, in Granma, entered the recovery phase this Monday and, while the province managed to synchronize again with National Electroenergy System (SEN).
The Cuban Civil Defense decided to establish as of 5:00 p.m. (5:00 PM) this Monday the recovery phase for Río Cauto and Cauto Cristowhile it determined to return to normality in the territories of Pilón, Niquero, Media Luna and Campechuela, also in Granma.
Meanwhile, the remaining Granma municipalities, still heavily affected by the cyclone, will continue in the recovery phase, according to the official communication.
On the other hand, the synchronization from Granma to the SEN It occurred shortly before noon.through the Contramaestre–Bayamo 110 kilovolt (kV) lines. The initial availability is 16 megawatts, which will be increased gradually, as explained by the Electric Company.
The province had been isolated from the National Electrical System after the collapse of six towers of the 220 kV Cueto–Bayamo lineblown down by the hurricane winds.
Serious damage in the province of Granma
The reconnection of Granma to the SEN does not imply that the entire provincial territory already has electrical service. On the one hand, they remain numerous damage to infrastructure locally and, on the other hand, the deficit in generation capacity that affects the entire country must be taken into account.
In statements to Granma television, executives from the sector stated that “a joint force of several electrical companies is gathering resources—conductors, metal profiles, insulators and hardware—in the Dos Ríos area, with the aim of completely restoring the damaged infrastructure as soon as the ground conditions allow it.”
According to a Radio Bayamo reportelectrical recovery in the province faces significant challenges due to severe damage to the network:
- 28 transformers affected (8 repaired and 3 in the process of being resolved).
- 257 poles damaged, of which 76 have already been recovered.
- 28.5 km of 33 kV lines damaged, with 5.28 km restored.
- On primary lines, 90.6 km suffered damage, of which 35.9 km have been recovered.
- On secondary lines, 81.2 km were affected and 19.5 km are already in service.
The immediate priorities of the electricity sector, the media stated, are guarantee the pumping of water and gradually restore service to the population.
Last evacuees return to their homes
At the same time, as part of the normalization of the most affected areas, nearly a thousand evacuees from the coastal community of Guamo returned to their homes after remaining protected in the Las Tunas municipality of Jobabo, according to reports from the Civil Defense and local media.
At the same time, on Monday afternoon a team of experts from the Red Cross and engineers, responsible for the deployment of the BHISHM Cube mobile hospital.
The facility, donated by the Government of India, should reinforce medical care in areas severely affected by the hurricane, according to Radio Bayamo.
Finally, in its note this Monday, the Civil Defense recognized the “discipline and solidarity” of the population of Granma, as well as the work of the management bodies and the media “during the preparations and response to this event”, while urging them to maintain cooperation in the recovery stage.
