Cuba's Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz, is set to make an urgent appearance on Cuban Television tonight to discuss the island's escalating energy crisis. This announcement was made by the Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel.
Through a statement on social media platform X, Díaz-Canel mentioned that he had instructed Marrero Cruz, alongside officials from the Ministry of Energy and Mines, to "inform the public about the country's energy emergency." According to Díaz-Canel, "the challenging situation we face is primarily due to the intensification of the economic war and the financial and energy blockade by the United States, which complicates the importation of fuel and essential resources for the industry."
However, the reality is that the National Electroenergy System (SEN) in Cuba has been in a dire state for years, showing signs of further deterioration rather than improvement. For this Thursday, the Electric Union forecasts a power deficit of 1,678 MW. Should this prediction hold true, it would mark the most severe power outage in recent years, as reported by the institution.
Current Challenges in Power Generation
The Electric Union's daily report highlights several units out of operation: Unit 5 at CTE Nuevitas, Unit 2 at CTE Felton, Unit 4 at Energas Varadero, and Unit 3 at CTE Renté. Meanwhile, maintenance work is ongoing for Unit 2 at CTE Santa Cruz, Unit 4 at CTE Cienfuegos, and Unit 5 at CTE Renté. Additionally, limitations in thermal generation have reached up to 441 MW.
Furthermore, due to the fuel shortage, 50 distributed generation plants are offline, as well as the floating power plant and the Diesel Electric Plant (CDE) in Mariel. This includes the floating power plant in Regla, 11 engines of the floating power plant in Melones, and the one in Santiago de Cuba, totaling 799 MW—325 MW from distributed generation, 390 MW from floating plants, and 84 MW from the CDE Mariel.