This past Saturday marked one of the most severe days in Cuba's ongoing energy crisis, as the country faced a drastic shortfall in electricity generation, reaching a deficit of 1,487 MW during peak hours. The situation, which left parts of the island in darkness for a continuous 24-hour period, worsened as several key plants from the National Electroenergetic System (SEN) went offline. According to the Electric Union (UNE), this left a significant portion of the population without power overnight, as reported on their Facebook page.
Lázaro Guerra Hernández, the technical director of UNE, provided an update on state television: The crisis was exacerbated by the emergency shutdown of unit 1 at the Santa Cruz Thermoelectric Plant (CTE), weather-related issues at the Energás Jaruco Plant, and load limitations on unit 3 of the CTE Cienfuegos, among other factors.
Struggling to Meet Demand
On Sunday morning at 7:00 a.m., the SEN's available capacity was merely 1,780 MW, while the demand soared to 2,500 MW, causing an initial shortage of 750 MW. The situation was projected to worsen during the afternoon peak, with a deficit expected to exceed 1,000 MW. Despite efforts to bring some units back online, such as unit 1 at the CTE Santa Cruz and unit 5 at Nuevitas, the SEN was unable to meet the estimated demand of 3,200 MW. Power outages are expected to persist, affecting millions of Cubans.
Systemic Failures and Fuel Shortages
Breakdowns at the CTE units in Mariel, Felton, and Nuevitas, coupled with ongoing maintenance at Santa Cruz and Renté, have left the electrical grid in a precarious state. Additionally, fuel shortages have forced 45 distributed generation plants offline, including the Patanas of Santiago de Cuba, Melones, and Regla, further diminishing the system's capacity to respond.
With only 2,155 MW of available capacity against a substantially higher demand, the country remains in an acutely vulnerable position, with no immediate solutions in sight for the escalating energy crisis. This enduring situation underscores the severe challenges faced by the Cuban population under the current regime.