The Unión Eléctrica de Cuba (UNE) has announced that the country is still grappling with severe electricity generation issues, resulting in widespread power outages since the early hours of August 17. The official statement indicated that service disruptions began at 7:46 AM the previous day due to a lack of generation capacity and continued throughout the early hours of Saturday.
On August 16, the most significant service disruption peaked at 833 MW at 9:00 PM, although it did not coincide with the peak demand period. This larger-than-planned outage was caused by the unexpected shutdown of units 2 of the Santa Cruz Thermal Power Plant (CTE) and 3 of the Rente CTE.
The National Electric System (SEN) started Saturday with an availability of 2,360 MW, while the demand reached 2,430 MW, resulting in 92 MW being affected by the generation capacity deficit. The UNE estimates that the maximum disruption in the coming hours could reach 350 MW due to the inability to meet demand.
Impact of Plant Shutdowns and Fuel Shortages
Units 1 and 2 of the Santa Cruz CTE, unit 5 of the Nuevitas CTE, unit 3 of the Rente CTE, and unit 2 of the Felton CTE are currently out of service due to breakdowns, further limiting thermal generation by 449 MW. Additionally, 38 distributed generation plants are offline due to fuel shortages, adding another 229 MW to the impact.
For peak hours, the UNE plans to bring unit 2 of the Santa Cruz CTE online with a capacity of 60 MW and recover 50 MW from distributed generation engines that are currently out of service due to fuel issues. Even so, an availability of 2,470 MW is expected against a maximum demand of 3,220 MW, resulting in a deficit of 750 MW and an impact of approximately 820 MW during peak consumption.
The regime had promised to reduce power outages during the vacation months, but by the end of July, they admitted that a lack of diesel fuel and a couple of "unexpected" breakdowns prevented the stabilization of the electric service. They have failed to keep their promises to the public and, to make matters worse, have asked individuals and state entities to implement energy-saving measures to mitigate the blackouts.
Frequently Asked Questions about Cuba's Power Outages
This section addresses common questions and concerns regarding the ongoing power outages in Cuba, their causes, and potential solutions.
What is causing the power outages in Cuba?
The power outages are primarily due to severe issues in electricity generation, unexpected shutdowns of key power plant units, and fuel shortages.
How long are the power outages expected to continue?
The duration of the power outages is uncertain, but the UNE has indicated that disruptions could continue for the foreseeable future due to ongoing generation capacity issues.
What measures are being taken to address the power outages?
The UNE plans to bring some power plant units back online and recover capacity from distributed generation engines. Additionally, energy-saving measures have been requested from individuals and state entities.