Madrid/“In the first months of 2025, Cuba registered a change in its investment matrix, with a notable increase in the energy sector.” This message from the National Office of Statistics and Information (Onei), published Monday on its Telegram account, contains a half -truth. The Government has allocated between January and February 27.2% of the total investments to the supply of electricity, gas and water, “which reflects the strategic effort of the country to strengthen the national electroenergetic system,” says a second message.
The percentage of money invested is very striking, especially considering that in tourism the amount was much lower. Business services, real estate and rental activities stayed with 14.1% of the total, while hotels and restaurants accounted for 4.7%, that is, 18.8% were allocated to the tourism sector, almost ten points less than dedicated to energy.
According to the ONEI, only the activity of the construction of hotels (business services, real estate and rental activities) “experienced a reduction of 11.2 points from 25.3% for 2024, to 14.1% so far from 2025”. In the statement, which is true, there is the trap, since the Onei is comparing the two -month investment with the annual and will have to wait at the end of the year to check if the last of the messages of that thread is fulfilled.
“This readjust shows a reorientation of the economic priorities of Cuba towards key infrastructure”
“This readjustment shows a reorientation of the economic priorities of Cuba towards key infrastructure; while other sectors lose weight in the investment structure,” says the Onei. Economists and population have been asking the government for years to take a turn in their investor policy after years all 35% of the tourism sector against quantities well below 5% of both agriculture and health or education.
Although in electricity, gas and water it has been invested more than in the last sectors (10% in 2023 and 12% in 2024), the percentage is also meager taking into account the energy crisis that the country ravages from, at least, 2019 and more seriously since 2022. In addition, the Government argued that tourism quickly reported the necessary currencies that the country requires, but with the collapse of the data of international travelers It has lost validity.
Where the Onei does offer the real comparison is in the total amount, without disaggregating for activities. Between January and February 2024, the total investment of the State was 12,443 million pesos (about 518 million dollars to the official change of 1 x 24), 19.4% less than in the same period of this year, when there were 14,857 million pesos (about 619 million dollars). This allows to deduce that, in the first two -month period of this 2025 they were allocated to electricity, gas and water 2,094 million pesos (87.2 million dollars).
The amount of money that the Government is investing in this sector – of which, can be supposed, electricity is the most benefited – is consistent with what has been reported a few weeks ago by the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, to recover the razed national energy system. This happens, according to the official, for financing the multitude of solar parks with the help of China that are beginning to cover the island, but also for other much more expensive repairs.
In recent days, the electricity deficit has put the government forecasts to the limit
O Levy cited, in addition to the drilling of new energy wells, in association with the Canadian Sherritt, or the recovery of structure, the multiple maintenance and capital repairs that requires the thermal energy, which he considered “the base regime, because it uses Cuban fuel, which is sovereignty”. The minister, in fact, stressed that although the solar parks are all of new construction it is more expensive to fix thermoelectric plants.
Precisely, in recent days, the electricity deficit has put the government forecasts to the limit – which aspired that this April the situation began to improve -, reaching 1,858 megawatts on Monday for the night peak schedule. In the interview with Granmathe minister announced that this month the ten photovoltaic parks would be reached – which, for the moment, they are complying with the deadlines -: “It will be as if another Felton plugged the Sen,” he said. The problem is that this Saturday, Felton 1 – unique unit in progress while the repair of the 2 ends, devastated by a fire in 2022 – suffered a serious breakdown for which it has had to be withdrawn.
The Electric Union of Cuba (UNE) announced yesterday that on Tuesday you could initiate the starting process of this unit of the Mayarí thermoelectric plant (Holguin) after successfully concluding a hydraulic test and starting the sealing work of the floor. “The director of the thermoelectric plant, Lidio Ramón Pérez, points out that they are in the final phase to conclude the fault solution. Felton 1 estimates the beginning of the starting process for this Tuesday, in the morning hours. Nuevitas 5 with a prognosis of entry for Thursday,” said the UNE on social networks.
“If you enter Tuesday, it fucks Wednesday,” replied a user who had a total of 28 reactions between the agreement and the laughter.
This Monday, Cubadebate He congratulated himself because, after a repair that has seemed eternal, the Cienfuegos Central Carlos Manuel de Céspedes He is about to return to life. Unit 3 of the thermoelectric plant suffered a breakdown in October 2024 that was fatal and joined to capital maintenance that was being carried out in 4.
The long article gives a good account of the agony that the thermals of the island suffer. “In November, after a brief respite, unit 4 was reactivated, but continuous shots forced maintenance to extend,” he says. In addition, the 3 pieces had to take Mexico to be repaired outside, for reasons that are not specified despite the technical of the note. “Now we have the pride of announcing that this month we will synchronize the unit number three,” said one of the engineers. The entrance of the 4 is scheduled for June. The question is whether two others will come out and Cuba will remain off in the middle of summer, when energy consumption rises due to the generalized use of air conditioning.
