Cuba with blackouts in 30% of its territory

Cuba It foresees blackouts in 30% of its territory for this Sunday during the time of highest consumption, that of the afternoon and evening, due to breakdowns in several plants and the lack of imported fuel, according to the daily report of the state-owned Unión Eléctrica (UNE ).

The country has registered up to 38% damage in recent days and blackouts for more than 12 hours a day in some areas, one of the highest rates since the beginning of the year when the deficit reached 40%, according to UNE reports.

The company, belonging to The Ministry of Energy and Mines of Cuba estimates for this date a maximum electrical generation capacity of 2,440 megawatts (MW) for a demand that will reach 3,350 MW.

The deficit – the difference between supply and demand – will be 910 MW and the impact – the circuits that will actually be disconnected – will reach 985 MW in the so-called “peak time”, in the evening.

The day before there was an impact on the service due to a deficit in generation capacity during the 24 hours of the day and during the hours of greatest demand the blackouts affected 35% of the island.

The situation has worsened in recent weeks partly due to the high temperatures that have reached up to 39 and 40 degrees Celsius in some parts of the island, together with the lack of fuel, scheduled maintenance and successive breakdowns in the units of the obsolete thermoelectric plants.

Three units are currently out of service due to breakdown, another three are under maintenance and 48 generation plants are inactive due to fuel deficit, with 360 MW affected.

Cuba’s national electrical system is in a very precarious situation due to the lack of imported fuel and breakdowns in thermoelectric plants, which have been in use for more than four decades, and the lack of investments and maintenance.

The Cuban Government has rented several floating power plants from a Turkish company (of which currently only five remain) to alleviate the lack of generation capacity, a quick but temporary, polluting and expensive solution.

The blackouts hinder the economic performance of the country, which has been plunged into a serious crisis for four years.

They have also been the trigger for the anti-government protests in recent years, including those on July 11, 2021 – the largest in decades – and those on March 17 in Santiago de Cuba (east) and other locations.