Crisis in Cuba: the regime expects a new wave of simultaneous power outages in a large part of the island

Governmental company electrical union (UNE) from Cuba She had warned the citizens what to expect cutbacks In the mains during Tuesday. Power failure will come to a 37% of the island’s area And they will be through in late Time of nighthours of the largest consumption.

This advertisement, however, is nothing new on the island. For months, Cuba has been suffering from constant power outages as a result of the energy crisis going on there. This condition worsened after passing Hurricane Ian From the west – at the end of September – that It caused these blackouts to become longer and more frequent. According to what was recorded, cuts in some areas of the island exceeded 12 hours a day.

In addition to the logical difficulties that it generates in daily tasks and work, these reductions directly affect exact nutritional status The islanders, who often had difficulties in obtaining food, and faced with long and sudden interruptions, had to throw it away because they could not keep it properly.

For this Tuesday, UNE calculates that during peak consumption hours, 2,022 MW will be generated compared to the required 3,100 MW. Thus, the deficit in electricity generation will be 1078 megawatts, while the impact will reach 1148 megawatts.

up to the present, 7 of 20 power generation units in the country Out of service due to breakdown or maintenance. These units are distributed among eight land factories and six floating units – leased to a Turkish company -.

To replace units out of operation and face the crisis, this Tuesday a New floating factory which will be delivered in the coming weeks. This measure is added to the declaration made by the Cuban regime last September, in which it expressed its willingness to reduce power outages before the end of this year.

Besides the outside help that might reach the island, the actual solution To the power system falls on a chain of Extensive reforms to new facilities investments. The power outages are due to malfunctions and failures of old thermal power plants, fuel shortages, and scheduled maintenance.

Seven of the eight terrestrial power plants in Cuba have it More than 40 years oldwhen the average age of these infrastructures is 30. In addition, the maintenance provided was not appropriate, due to the lack of resources that – according to the regime – are the product of US sanctions.

While the blackouts had been going on since at least May, more protests began across the country in July, escalating sharply between late September and early October, when Hurricane Ian made landfall.

This phenomenon caused great damage to the island in general, and unleashed L Food shortageAnd the Water and a power system breakdown the National. Even ten days after the typhoon, the system has not yet been able to respond to the situation, as only 38% of the population has access to electricity.

This is why the power outage has become one of the main reasons Cubans took to the streets and protested against the regime – after the demonstrations of July 11, 2021, which were considered the largest in decades -.

(with information from EFE)

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