More Major Blackouts Loom in Cuba, says Energy Minister
The “system is weak,” warns the official
The “biggest problem is fuel,” the official acknowledges, anticipating another possible collapse of the national energy system.
HAVANA TIMES – With a long face and tired eyes, Cuba’s Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, tried to calm the public Thursday night on national television, but his words point to a weekend of extensive blackouts: “The system is weak, there is a large generation deficit,” he admitted.
However, De la O countered, “The conditions are not there for the National Energy System to collapse.” “Today, the Mariel barges are generating, Moa’s sites are generating, and there is generation along with Energas and the rest of the thermoelectric plants,” he added, responding to the wave of social media comments predicting another total electrical collapse this weekend.
The minister asserted that the “biggest problem” is “the fuel shortage, which doesn’t allow us to maneuver and bring everything [electricity generation] online at once. Fuel is so limited that if we allocate to one area of the country, another goes uncovered, and so on,” he stated, adding that the “technical condition” of the thermoelectric plants also plays a role in the energy crisis.
However, Levy mentioned that petroleum supplies are arriving and contracts have been secured for the coming days, anticipating that the country will “see a slight recovery from this situation starting now.”
The minister noted complications in transporting fuel from tankers to refining plants. “There are issues with the sea conditions, which make cabotage difficult,” he warned.
“We have diesel, but we face logistical issues. The limited diesel we have is concentrated in one region of the country, so a strong, extensive logistical operation is needed to distribute it nationwide, which takes time, resources, and will gradually improve as this logistics plan starts working,” he explained.
On October 17, the country registered its highest blackout impact index of the year, with a maximum deficit rate of almost 51%, according to forecasts by the Electric Union (UNE). That Thursday night, Cuba’s Prime Minister Manuel Marrero made a special appearance, warning of the severity of the crisis.
A day later, the electrical distribution system disconnected following a reported failure at the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, the most important one. The nationwide outage lasted three days. The memory of that blackout, is still fresh. The power loss not only paralyzed industry and services but also led to countless domestic issues. For many families, the little stored food spoiled due to the lack of refrigeration.
UNE’s daily report indicates that six generation units are out of order and three others are under maintenance. Additionally, 72 distributed stationary generation plants are out of service due to fuel shortages (diesel and fuel oil).
Cuba’s energy crisis has worsened in recent years, particularly since late August, with supply cuts reaching annual peaks even before the total blackout, with maximum impact rates between 41% and 51%.
The system is in a precarious state due to fuel shortages —stemming from the lack of foreign currency to import it— and frequent failures in outdated thermoelectric plants, which have been in operation for over four decades and suffer from chronic underinvestment and lack of maintenance.
First published in Spanish by 14ymedio and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.