Havana, Oct 18 (EFE).- The Cuban electrical system completely collapsed this Friday, the Ministry of Energy and Mines (Minem) reported on social networks.
“At 11:07 this morning, due to the conditions in which the SEN (national electrical system) is operating, it was completely disconnected,” said Minem, adding that work is being done on its “reestablishment.”
According to the ministry, the collapse of the system occurred as a result of a problem at the Guiteras thermoelectric plant, one of the largest in the country, which forced technicians to remove it from the system.
This thermoelectric plant, as reported this Thursday by the Electrical Union (UNE), already required maintenance for a few days after being operational all summer, and having more than four decades of activity.
In September 2022, a similar situation of “zero production” occurred after Category Three Hurricane Ian passed through the western end of the island. This caused a serious imbalance and left the entire country in darkness. Recovery took days.
Cuba is immersed in a serious energy crisis due to the deficit of fuel – the result of the lack of foreign currency to import it – for its engines and generating plants, and the obsolescence of its seven thermoelectric plants, of Soviet manufacture and with a lack of investments and maintenances.
For this Friday, the UNE expected that, at the time of maximum demand, there would be a blackout that would simultaneously affect 49% of the country.
This is the second highest percentage of impact expected so far this year, after the maximum of around 51% was set this Thursday. At the beginning of the year, rates of over 40% were already recorded.
The Cuban Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero, appeared this Thursday in an unusual way on television to talk about the current “national emergency” and announced measures such as the paralysis of all non-essential state work activities, such as hospitals and food production centers.
Frequent blackouts damage the Cuban economy – which in 2023 contracted 1.9% and is still below 2019 levels – and drive social discontent in a society affected by the economic crisis that has worsened in recent years.
The frequent blackouts have also been catalysts for the latest anti-government protests of some magnitude on the island, including those on July 11, 2021 – the largest in decades – and those on March 17 in Santiago de Cuba (east) and others. localities.
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