The deficit of electricity generation decreased this Wednesday below 1000 MW in Cuba, a barrier that had become insurmountable in recent days.
The improvement was such that from 9:35 at night and throughout the morning there were no blackouts for this reason on the island, according to the Electrical Union (UNE).
This seems to have been influenced by the arrival of a cold front, which caused rain, penetration of the sea and maintained cool temperatures from early hours in western Cuba, which presumably influenced a decrease in demand.
It also helped synchronization of the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, which was out of the National Electric System (SEN) for several days for maintenance after suffering a “technological failure.” On those days, the maximum impact exceeded 1,500 and even the 1700 MW.
This Wednesday, however, the greatest impact was 981 MW at 6:10 PM, “coinciding with the time of maximum demand,” says the UNE, which predicts a similar figure for today: 990 MW.
However, as of 6:46 AM today “the service began to be affected again due to high transfers to the central-eastern area,” acknowledges the entity, which foresees an impact of 450 MW by midday, concentrated mainly in central and eastern Cuba.
On this day, five thermoelectric units remain outside the SEN due to breakdowns and maintenance, although the number of distributed generation plants stopped due to lack of fuel decreased to 37. For this reason, 132 MW will no longer be generated.
Regarding the meteorological situation, the Cuban Meteorological Institute forecast another cool day in the west of the country, which could once again be a palliative for greater blackouts, at least in that region of the island.
Cuba is going through a prolonged energy crisis in recent years, due to repeated breakdowns in its thermoelectric plants, with decades of operation and a chronic investment deficit, and to the lack of fuel, due to the lack of foreign currency to import it.
Frequent blackouts weigh on the Cuban economy, which contracted 1.9% in 2023 and did not grow last year, according to the Government’s own estimates, while at the same time they have fueled social discontent and have been a catalyst for street protests and an unprecedented wave migratory.
