Following a grim weekend in Cuba, marked by power outages exceeding deficits of 1000 MW on both Saturday and Sunday, the week has commenced with even graver predictions. The Electric Union (UNE) anticipates continuous electricity cuts throughout Monday, with disruptions of 211 MW in the morning, 550 MW around noon, and reaching 950 MW during peak hours.
However, these estimates are likely to be underestimated. Over the weekend, Sunday’s forecasted outage of 880 MW escalated to 1033 MW, while Saturday's projected 800 MW surged to 1043 MW. Both days experienced 24-hour service interruptions due to insufficient generation capacity.
Widespread Failures in Power Plants
Currently, four units at the Mariel, Nuevitas, Felton, and Renté thermoelectric plants are experiencing breakdowns. Additionally, a block at the Santa Cruz power station is undergoing maintenance. Compounding the issue, 42 distributed generation plants are offline due to fuel shortages, affecting 316 MW, while thermal generation limitations account for 476 MW.