Cuba will have blackouts in about 15% of Cuba during peak consumption hours in the evening, according to calculations issued this Saturday by the state company Unión Eléctrica (UNE).
Lack of fuel, breakdowns and maintenance are the main causes of the usual blackouts on the Caribbean island, according to the UNE’s daily reports.
The company belonging to the Ministry of Energy and Mines explained in its daily report on the energy situation that the service during the day was also affected the previous day.
The UNE estimates for this Saturday an electricity generation capacity of 2,326 megawatts (MW) and a maximum demand of 2,650 MW.
This means that the deficit – the difference between supply and demand – will be up to 324 MW and the impact – what will actually be disconnected – will be 394 MW in the so-called “peak hours.”
The national electrical grid is in a very precarious state due to the lack of imported fuel and breakdowns in thermoelectric plants, obsolete due to their more than 4 decades of use, and the lack of investments and maintenance.
In the last 6 years, the Cuban Government has rented up to 7 floating power plants (of which currently only 5 remain) to alleviate the lack of generation capacity, a quick but temporary, polluting and expensive solution.
Blackouts have been one of the triggers for anti-government protests in recent years, including those on July 11, 2021, the largest in decades; and those on March 17 in Santiago de Cuba (east) and other locations. EFE
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