MÉRIDA, Mexico -. The Havana Electric Company announced for this Tuesday afternoon blackouts beyond those planned due to a generation deficit in the National Electric System (SEN).
This afternoon it is necessary to affect “the electrical service, due to emergency, to the capital’s clients associated with Block 4, during the hours between 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm”, reads an information note.
“The population is asked to contribute to the rational use of electrical energy, in order to avoid overloads and reduce service interruptions,” the information adds.
Electrical crisis
Precisely this Tuesday it was known that the Cienfuegos Thermoelectric Power Plant (CTE) left the national electroenergy system at 10:02 on the night of Monday, October 14, to “comply with the planned and necessary maintenance in block 4”, according to the Electrical Union (UNE) of Cuba.
The stoppage in the operations of the Cienfuegos CTE further aggravates the crisis due to a deficit in electricity generation on the Island. This same Tuesday, the UNE advertisement that the blackouts would simultaneously cover 41% of the national territory during peak hours (afternoon-night) this Tuesday.
In your daily partthe state company indicated that the interruptions of the electrical service are due to the lack of fuel and breakdowns in the units of the operational terrestrial thermoelectric plants.
“43 distributed generation plants, the Mariel lake, the CDE Mariel, engines in the Melones lake and the Santiago de Cuba lake are out of service due to fuel,” according to the company.
Specifically, for this Tuesday the UNE calculates a maximum electricity generation capacity of 1,992 megawatts (MW) and a demand of up to 3,300 MW, for a deficit of 1,308 MW.
However, the impact (what will actually be disconnected) will reach 1,378 MW during peak hours on October 15, the UNE specified.
In August, the Island recorded one of the highest electrical service disruptions in three months (39%), although still below the 45% disruption reported in February of this year.
Currently, power outages affect all provinces (although they are worse outside of Havana) and have reached up to 10 hours a day twice a day (around 20 hours in total).
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. This measure, according to authorities, seeks to reduce interruptions during the months of July and August, when consumption is highest.
“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 cannot 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.
