English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana | 9 December 2022 — Three floating plants of the Turkish company Karpowership can be seen these days in the vicinity of the Otto Parellada power plant, known as Tallapiedra, in Havana. Of them, only two, the one that arrived on November 15 and one more, seem to be working, … Continue reading “Three Turkish Floating Power Plants Scramble to End the Blackouts in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, October 19, 2024 — By Saturday it will be 24 hours since a massive power outage gripped Cuba on Friday morning. Meanwhile, getting the nation’s power grid back up and running seems to be moving slowly. 14ymedio was able to confirm that electricity was restored to a few isolated facilities in Havana such … Continue reading “With Few Exceptions, Cuba Remains in Darkness Despite Effort to Reboot the Nation’s Power Plants”
The Cuban authorities keep the few oil reserves to support the nighttime power deficit 14ymedio, Havana, 24 September 2024 — “For the first time in a long time the landscape is not stained with the smoke of the patanas. Now things have become critical,” exclaimed a resident of Nuevo Vedado on Tuesday. Until about 7 … Continue reading “The Regime Shuts Down the Turkish ‘Patanas’ for the Day To Conserve Fuel”
14ymedio, Havana, 18 April 2024 — Ten Cuban engineers with “relevant skills” were hired last week by the Government of Guyana to help the state Power and Light (GPL) company solve its energy crisis. Also arriving to “cope with the blackouts” in Guyana is a Turkish “patana” (floating power plant) with 36 megawatts (MW) of … Continue reading “Guyana Hires Cuban Engineers and Makes off with a Turkish Floating Power Plant Anchored in Havana Bay”
EFE (via 14ymedio), Ernesto Mastrascusa, Havana, 4 April 2024 — The technical director of the Electric Union of Cuba (UNE), Lázaro Guerra, recognizes that the country would need about 10 billion dollars to repair its thermoelectric plants. The figure, estimated by independent specialists residing in the United States, such as Jorge Piñón and Emilio … Continue reading “The Electric Union Admits that Cuba Could Need 10 Billion Dollars for Its Power Plants”
14ymedio, Madrid, 21 March 2024 — At 8 p.m. this Wednesday, the Antonio Guiteras de Matanzas thermoelectric plant had reached 280 megawatts (MW), its maximum power, which it maintains today, Thursday, at the beginning of the day. The news about the main electricity generation unit in the country must now be given like this, because … Continue reading “Cuba’s Guiteras Power Plant Reaches Its Maximum Without Solving the Island’s Energy Deficit”
14ymedio, Juan Izquierdo, Havana, 15 February 2024 — Anchored in the inlet of Guanabacoa and protected from the curiosity of habaneros, the exact location of the Erol Bey Turkish floating power plant — commonly called a ’patana’ — with its four chimneys, is not known. Located next to an industrial area, a 1,476-foot esplanade separates it from the … Continue reading “Anchored in Regla, the Mysterious Sixth Turkish ‘Patana’ Contracted by Cuba Is Called ‘Erol Bey’”
14ymedio, Juan Izquierdo, Havana, 27 August 2023 — The formidable column of smoke that extends from the bay of Havana to the east is the most visible example of the environmental damage caused by the Turkish patanas, the floating power plants present on the Island since 2019. The chimneys of the Suheyla Sultan, generating 240 … Continue reading “In Addition to Being Expensive, Turkish ‘Patanas’ Are a Pollution Bomb in Cuba”
14ymedio, Juan Izquierdo, Havana, 23 August 2023 — One of the best kept secrets of the Cuban authorities is the cost of the Turkish patanas [floating power plants] that, since 2019, contribute to alleviating blackouts on the Island. Faced with the silence of those responsible, 14ymedio went to look for information in the Dominican Republic, … Continue reading “Cuba Has Spent More Than 100 Million Dollars on Turkish ‘Patanas’, a Secret Investment”
14ymedio, Havana, 16 February 2023 — The fragility of the Cuban electrical system was evidenced once again. Now “an electrical failure in the use of the plant” has left the Antonio Guiteras de Matanzas Thermoelectric Power Plant out of service since shortly after noon this Thursday. According to a brief statement from the Unión Eléctrica that caused annoyance among users, … Continue reading “Cuba’s Largest Power Plant is Out of Service Due to an Electrical Failure”
UNE announced the “total disconnection” of the Electrical System The Antonio Guiteras power plant had scheduled maintenance, but it did not last until the scheduled date With the country in darkness and the economy paralyzed, Marrero says that Cuba “is not yet in a bottomless abyss” 14ymedio, Havana, 18 October 2024 — The Cuban Ministry … Continue reading “Cuba Will Remain Without Electricity at Least Until Saturday”
All Cubans, without exception, have graduated as electrical engineers, more by necessity than by vocation 14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, October 12, 2024 — Popular discomfort can be measured in decibels in Cuba. The collective cry that erupts immediately when the blackout hits has been increasing in volume and now takes longer to subside. This morning, … Continue reading “‘There Is Gas but No Electricity To Pump It’: The Drama of the Service Centers in Havana”
14ymedio, Havana, 6 April 2024 — Paralyzed since 2021 and after a stampede by its employees, the Hermanos Díaz refinery in Santiago de Cuba has come out of its lethargy thanks to an unusual “adaptation.” Despite the fact that its facilities are designed to process light crude oil, the managers have decided that it will … Continue reading “An ‘Experiment’ Allows the Santiago de Cuba Refinery To Process Heavy Crude”
14ymedio, Havana, September 28, 2023 — The intervention of the Cuban Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, this Thursday on the State TV Roundtable program has left more doubts than explanations among those who have closely followed the energy fluctuations of the Island. Who are the fuel suppliers whose non-compliance has led … Continue reading “The Cuban Regime Claims Not To Have Fuel or Money, But Oil Tankers Continue To Arrive on the Island”
14ymedio, Havana, 7 March 2023 — Heat begins to squeeze the inhabitants of the Island, and the demand for energy grows faster than the generation recovers. This Tuesday, many Cubans choked on their breakfasts when Cuban television announced power cuts of up to seven hours in some parts of the Island. “Yesterday in Sancti Spíritus … Continue reading “‘The Blackouts are Taking Off Again’ Throughout Cuba”
