The blackouts will last throughout the day on Monday and during peak hours the third record will be set in terms of generation deficit in the last seven days, according to data published by the Electrical Union (UNE) collated by EFE.
The UNE, attached to the Ministry of Energy and Mines (Minem), estimated a generation capacity of 1,268 megawatts (MW) and a maximum expected demand of 3,300 MW for the peak demand hours.
In this way, the deficit will be 2,032 MW and the impact—what will actually be disconnected to avoid disorderly blackouts—will reach 2,062 MW, according to the UNE.
Ten of the 16 operational thermoelectric production units are out of service due to breakdowns or maintenance. This energy source should contribute 40% of the energy mix.
Likewise, 100 distributed generation plants (engines) and 5 fuel engines are not operating due to lack of fuel (diesel and fuel oil) and about ten are stopped due to lack of lubricant.
Cuba has been suffering a serious energy crisis since mid-2024 due to frequent breakdowns in its obsolete thermoelectric plants and the lack of foreign currency to import the fuel necessary to power its energy production infrastructure.
Independent experts point out that this energy crisis responds to chronic underfinancing of the sector, completely in the hands of the State since the triumph of the revolution in 1959. The problem is structural and there is no possible solution in the short or medium term, they add.
Independent studies estimate that between 8,000 and 10,000 million dollars would be needed to refloat the system.
For its part, the Cuban Government points to the impact of US sanctions on this industry and accuses Washington of “energy asphyxiation.”
The Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, assured last week that next year the situation could be expected to improve “slightly”, but this is a promise that has been reiterated in recent years without being fulfilled.
The prolonged daily blackouts weigh on the economy, which has contracted 11% in the last five years and this year will also close in negative. They also fuel social discontent in a country mired in a serious crisis and have been the trigger for the main protests of the last five years.
