This Monday, Cuba will face prolonged blackouts throughout the day, with effects that during the time of greatest energy demand will simultaneously leave 55% of the country without electricity, according to data from the state Electrical Union (UNE) analyzed by the EFE agency.
Although the island has been going through an acute energy crisis since August 2024, the current levels of impact remain among the highest in recent weeks. On December 8, a recent record was recorded, when the cuts reached 62% of the national territory. Among the main causes are recurring breakdowns in obsolete thermoelectric plants and difficulties in importing fuel.
Are falls inevitable? of the national electrical system in Cuba
This last point brings together the shortage of foreign currency for the Cuban State to acquire oil on the international market and the military pressure from the United States on tankers from Venezuela, Havana’s main energy supplier.
For the evening peak hours, the UNE – attached to the Ministry of Energy and Mines – estimates a generation capacity of 1,488 megawatts (MW) compared to a maximum demand of 3,250 MW. The deficit will reach 1,762 MW, while the actual expected impact—the energy that will be disconnected to avoid disorderly blackouts—will be 1,792 MW.
Currently, six of the 16 operational thermoelectric units are out of service due to breakdowns or maintenance. Thermoelectric generation contributes around 40% of the country’s energy mix.
Added to this is the paralysis of 91 distributed generation plants and the engine infrastructure of Moa, in the east of the country, due to the lack of fuel (diesel and fuel oil). In addition, a dozen engines remain idle due to lack of lubricants. This type of generation also represents about 40% of the national electricity system.
Independent experts attribute the Cuban energy crisis to chronic underfinancing of a sector controlled by the State since 1959. External estimates estimate that between 8 billion and 10 billion dollars would be necessary to clean up the electrical system.
For its part, the Cuban Government points out the impact of US sanctions on this industry and accuses Washington of promoting “energy asphyxiation.”
Prolonged blackouts directly affect the national economy, which has contracted 11% in the last five years and will close this year negatively again. They have also been one of the main triggers of the most significant social protests recorded in the country in the same period.
EFE/OnCuba
