Havana/A new record of blackouts is expected this Monday in Cuba. The impact will once again exceed 2,000 megawatts (MW), according to the report published by the Electrical Union (UNE), and will be 2,025 during peak hours. Taking into account that there will only be an availability of 1,185 MW for a demand of 3,180 MW, this represents an unprecedented deficit of 64%.
In the midst of constant blackouts, which exceed 20 hours a day in some places on the Island, UNE has announced the sale of 800 W solar modules for the price of 75,000 pesos. The offer is only for “outstanding workers”, despite the fact that this price exceeds 20 times the average salary of a state employee.
in a message published on his official profileUNE proudly announced the installation of an 800 W photovoltaic module in the house of a retired Labor Hero since 2003, in Artemisa. “The kit, with a price of 75,200 pesos to be paid in different ways, includes six meters of cable and a connector; another connector and double-edged blade, to be purchased according to supply-demand,” the publication detailed. Cash or card payment options are mentioned, as well as the possibility of “family support.”
The comments on the publication reveal indignation with black humor: “A lifetime will not be enough to pay for it.” Others denounce that some “chosen ones” have not even been able to enjoy the privilege, because they cannot afford it.
Even more bloody is the advertisement of the Postal Company in Sancti Spírituswhich sells solar kits to both individuals and companies. According to a publication on their social networks, the most “basic” model, of 5 kilowatts (kW), costs 2,530,000 Cuban pesos, and the 12 kW model is close to 4,895,000. Payment must be made entirely in national currency, either through electronic channels or in cash.
State prices for these modules triple what can be purchased for systems like these in the informal market
The state prices for these modules triple what can be purchased through systems like these in the informal market, where in addition, the sale is not reserved for selected groups in the population.
In the province of Granma, the program is already facing setbacks. In an article from the official media The Demajaguathere are reports of panels installed without available batteries, equipment with technical limitations and cases of breakdowns whose responsibility ends up being attributed to the client: for installations of systems that do not work, some beneficiaries have to continue paying fees that exceed ten times their monthly salary.
Meanwhile, the official newspaper Granma celebrates the installation of 5,000 2 kW photovoltaic systems donated by China to “protect what is essential.” According to Elena Maidelín Ortiz Fernández, head of the project for installing the donated modules, 2,671 of these systems were destined for “vital centers in all the municipalities of the country.” The purpose, he noted, “is not total self-sufficiency,” but “to guarantee the energy survival of that center, which in turn contributes to the vitality of the municipality and the province.” The UNE proudly highlights these facilities in its profile, to which users respond with protests over the repeated power outages in their areas.
Due to system installations that do not work, some beneficiaries have to continue paying fees that exceed ten times their monthly salary.
Ortiz Fernández also emphasizes that this benefit will be taken to rural areas where electricity has never reached. “If you put a 2 kW system for these people there who can have a refrigerator, a fan, a television, their lives completely change and then we prevent these people from emigrating from their locations.”
The deployment of solar panels is officially presented as part of the energy transition in the face of the crisis and deterioration of the national electrical system; but access to domestic systems depends on an impossible capacity to pay in a context of low salaries and constant blackouts.
On the other hand, the installation of solar parks announced with Chinese contracts for 92 projects throughout the Island, It will not solve the energy deficiency either. The limited current contributions of the projects already completed suggest that the energy provided by these facilities to the Island will continue to be insufficient, in addition to being restricted to the hours of solar radiation.
While the official press boasts donations and “energy resilience”millions of Cubans continue to suffer basic needs as a luxury that costs more than they will earn in years.
