For months now, Cubans have faced daily power outages, and this Thursday is no different. The situation is expected to be particularly dire during peak hours, with an estimated shortfall of 835 MW.
Two thermal power units are currently out of service due to breakdowns, and another is undergoing maintenance. Additionally, the damage caused by Hurricane Helene in the western and central regions of the country has compounded the problem.
The Electric Union (UNE) reported that on Wednesday, power was disrupted for 24 hours due to a generation capacity deficit, and service wasn’t restored until 2:00 am. The maximum impact reached 1001 MW, which is 151 MW more than initially forecasted.
The note details that an additional 125 MW were lost due to distribution network breakdowns caused by adverse weather conditions in various regions: Pinar del Rio (21 MW), Artemisa (37 MW), Havana (21 MW), Mayabeque (3 MW), Matanzas (13 MW), Villa Clara (8 MW), Cienfuegos (12 MW), and Sancti Spíritus (10 MW).
Moreover, 40 distributed generation plants are not operational due to a lack of fuel, including the barge in Santiago de Cuba, fuel engines in Mariel, and barges in Melones, Mariel, and Regla, totaling 522 MW—213 MW from distributed groups and 309 MW from barges.
There are also thermal generation limitations amounting to 537 MW, further exacerbating the energy crisis.