Cuba recovers 70% of energy coverage

Havana. Cuba woke up on Tuesday with better electricity coverage four days after a collapse of the national energy system aggravated by the passage of a cyclone. Although an improvement is expected in the coming hours, the authorities warned that the weakness of the system is far from being solved.

Parts of the Ministry of Energy and Mines and the National Electrical Union – which controls the system – indicated that on Tuesday morning 70% of the country’s clients have the service and more than 95% in the provinces of Pinar del Río , Artemisa, Mayabeque and Havana; as well as in the east in Las Tunas and Holguín.

The ones with the least availability are Santiago and Guantánamo, where the cyclone Oscar passed through the day before – later downgraded to a tropical storm – which left six dead in addition to the destruction of infrastructure and flooding.

In total, about 1,400 megawatts were being generated, authorities indicated. Cuba’s requirements for a typical day range between 2,000 and 3,000 megawatts at peak times.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel indicated on Monday night that in “the next few hours” the collapse of the national energy system would be overcome, but he clarified that the blackouts—although not as long as this one—will persist.

“We will then enter a stage of managing the deficits that we have left, which was the situation we were experiencing before the first disconnection process (on Friday),” said the president.

The energy emergency throughout the island began on Thursday night when during peak hours 50% of the country suffered a lack of electricity, a situation that led to an appearance by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero to order saving measures such as the suspension of classes or non-vital activities.

However, the most critical situation unexpectedly broke out on Friday morning with the total collapse of the national energy system caused by a breakdown at the Antonio Guiteras power plant.

The streets of Havana woke up calm on Tuesday and no new protests like those on Monday night were confirmed, The Associated Press found in a tour of various parts of the capital of two million inhabitants.

There was public transport, some shops were open and essential services such as health were operating.

The tense energy situation is conditioned by a small increase in demand, but above all by the lack of fuel to power the generation plants and the frequent breakdowns in the old thermoelectric plants. These last two factors are caused by the harsh United States sanctions that prevent Cuba from buying crude oil or its derivatives or acquiring spare parts.