The Electric Union (UNE) presented on national television, through Canal Caribe, a new “reason” to explain the blackouts lasting more than 24 hours in some Cuban towns.
UNE authorities have found a new reason to explain the prolonged blackouts that affect the population on a daily basis. According to a television report, it is said to be the continued theft of oil from electrical transformers.
A report issued by Canal Caribe indicated that the theft of this lubricant causes serious damage to the infrastructure and causes prolonged power outages, leaving neighborhoods and communities without electricity for more than 24 hours in some cases.
“When theft occurs in substations and the oil is stolen from a 4,000 KVA transformer, this affects approximately 5,000 users,” explained Israel Ramos, an expert from the Electric Union (UNE).
Initially, thefts of dielectric oil were concentrated in electrical substation equipment, but now they are also reported in distribution transformers located on poles and columns. This further complicates the process of restoring electrical service, they said.
“Recent events have depleted our transformer reserves, leaving us without spare equipment,” Ramos said.
UNE on blackouts in Cuba
In such cases, the solution requires finding transformers in other provinces, which delays the restoration of service while users remain without electricity, said the UNE expert about some blackouts in Cuba and gave examples.
“Last week, in the town of Zulueta, in Villa Clara, the population was without electricity for about three days,” he added.
They specified that Matanzas, Ciego de Ávila, Artemisa and Mayabeque are the provinces most affected by these crimes.
In Mayabeque, for example, at the Nazareno substation, in the municipality of San José de las Lajas, five people were caught stealing oil from transformers, which forced them to flee, abandoning a car, a mobile phone and several 20-litre drums.
They were subsequently arrested and are currently in pretrial detention, accused of sabotage, facing sentences of between seven and 15 years in prison for these acts.
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