Cuba will suffer continued electric cuts throughout this Friday, which will simultaneously affect 45 % of the country, the state -owned Electric Union (UNE) predicted, which blames the situation A breakdowns in thermoelectric plants and the lack of fuel.
The island suffers a deep energy crisis, which has been aggravated in recent months with deficit rates that have reached 53 % and three national blackouts of several full days. Currently, some regions only have electricity supply four hours a day and Havana has daily cuts of up to five hours.
UNE, attached to the Ministry of Energy and Mines (Minem), calculates for the day a maximum electricity generation of 1.814 megawatts (MW) at the “Pico” schedule, in the afternoon-night, for a lawsuit that provides for 3,180 MW.
The deficit – the difference between supply and demand – will be 1,366 MW and the real affectation – the circuits that will be disconnected preventively to avoid a disorderly blackout – will reach 1,436 MW at the time of greater consumption, below the maximum of 1,575 MW registered the eve.
The UNE recognizes stops for breakdowns and maintenance in seven of the 20 thermoelectric production units (distributed in seven centrals). In addition, 55 distributed generation centrals are out of service due to lack of fuel (fuel and diesel).
According to experts, situations as tension as that of this day, with so many non -operational infrastructure, they raise the probability that a new incident causes disorderly electric cuts and that, to destabilize the set of the precarious electrical system, another blackout may happen national.
The current Cuban energy crisis is explained, in the opinion of independent experts, for a chronic infinance of this sector, completely in the hands of the Cuban state since the triumph of the revolution in 1959.
Thermoelectric plants are obsolete, after decades of exploitation and investment deficit; And the paralysis of other infrastructure is linked to the lack of fuel and diesel, due to the lack of state’s currency to import them.
According to various independent calculations, The Cuban government would specify between 8,000 and 10,000 million dollars to refloat the national electrical system (SEN)an investment out of reach. And any solution would be possible only in the long term.
The frequent blackouts have the Cuban economy, which contracted 1.9 % in 2023 and did not grow last year, according to estimates of the government itself. According to these figures, the GDP of the island remains below the 2019 levels and will not exceed this 2025, for which the Executive provides for a 1 %advance.
In addition, electric cuts have struggled social discontent, visible in mass migration in recent years, and is one of the main triggers of the unusual protests that have been recorded since 2021 on the island.
