49% of Cuba will have blackouts this Fridayaccording to the forecasts of the state company Electrical Union (UNE) which mentions the lack of fuel and the breakdowns in thermoelectric plants as the main causes of cuts.
The energy crisis in the Caribbean country has worsened since the end of August due to the lack of fuel – due to the lack of foreign currency to import it -, the constant breakdowns in the obsolete thermoelectric plants, most of which have been in operation for more than 40 years and a chronic investment deficit.
Since then, two national blackouts have been recorded y The maximum deficit rate has exceeded 51% and remains above 40%according to data from the company attached to the Ministry of Energy and Mines.
The UNE indicates that for the afternoon-night of this day there will be a maximum electrical generation capacity of 1,710 megawatts (MW) for a demand that will reach 3.200 MW.
The deficit – the difference between supply and demand – will be 1.510 MW and the impact – the circuits that will actually be disconnected – will reach 1.580 MW during the time of greatest demand.
According to the UNE, six of the 20 generation units (distributed across the country’s seven operational thermoelectric plants) are damaged or undergoing maintenance. Besides, 54 distributed generation plants (engines and large diesel and fuel oil generating plants) are stopped due to lack of fuel.
Frequent outages have a significant economic and social cost. Much of the state industry that is still operational and the public administration is strongly affected, even paralyzed.
The blackouts have also triggered anti-government protests such as those on July 11, 2021 – the largest in decades -, those in Nuevitas and Havana in August and September 2022, and those on March 17 in Santiago de Cuba.
(With information from EFE)
