Power outages continue to plague Cuba as a result of a significant generation deficit, with disruptions surpassing the daily forecasts of the Union Eléctrica (UNE) experts. While Tuesday's peak hour deficit was projected at 995 MW, the actual impact reached 1022 MW, casting doubt on Wednesday's forecast of an 850 MW shortfall during the same period.
According to UNE's report, as of 7:00 am, the National Electric System (SEN) had an availability of 2025 MW against a demand of 2350 MW, resulting in a 325 MW deficit due to generation capacity shortfalls. The situation is expected to worsen during peak hours, with an anticipated deficit of 550 MW.
At present, two units at the Renté and Felton thermoelectric plants are out of service due to malfunctions. Additionally, another block at Felton is undergoing maintenance.
Compounding the issue, 46 distributed generation plants are offline due to a lack of fuel. This includes the Mobile Generation in Santiago de Cuba (GMS) and engines in the Mobile Generation of Melones (GME), contributing to a total deficit of 605 MW—357 MW from distributed groups and 248 MW from mobile generation.