Unit 6 of Mariel, Energas, and the Moa engines were disconnected from the national electricity system.
14ymedio, Madrid, 4 August 2025 — A power outage on Sunday night left much of Havana without power, including hospitals and the main water supply sources, which regained electricity after 2:00 a.m. As a result, unit 6 of the Máximo Gómez thermoelectric plant in Mariel, Energas, and the engines at Moa were disconnected from the national electricity system (SEN), according to the Ministry of Energy and Mines.
The initial outage occurred at the Naranjito substation, affecting the Príncipe, Melones, and Tallapiedra substations. The number of affected circuits multiplied across almost all of Havana’s municipalities: Arroyo Naranjo, Boyeros, 10 de Octubre, Plaza de la Revolución, Cerro, Centro Habana, Habana Vieja, Playa, Lisa, Marianao, San Miguel, Cotorro, Guanabacoa, and Habana del Este.
Just after 3:30 a.m., the Havana electric company announced that power was restored to Arroyo Naranjo (Los Pinos, Vieja Linda, La India, Alturas de la Víbora), 10 de Octubre (Mónaco), Boyeros (Santiago de las Vegas, Wajay), Cerro, Centro Habana, San Miguel, and Playa (areas of Cubanacán, Querejeta). Some users living in the aforementioned circuits protested their continued lack of power, while the UNE (National Electricity Union) asked them to be patient with the “gradual” restoration.
Some users living in the aforementioned circuits protested their continued lack of electricity, while the UNE asked them to be patient with the “gradual” restoration.
The electricity company (UNE) has not reported the outage on its Facebook account, although it did specify that it would keep its instant messaging group channels updated. On its Telegram account, UNE limited itself to explaining the transmission function of an electrical substation, as well as stating the deficit of 1,500 megawatts in the early morning.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines, the first to sound the alarm, stated that the cause of the incident was being investigated, opening the door to all kinds of speculation. Doubts were compounded by the impact on the engines at Moa, a diesel-powered power plant located more than 900 kilometers from the site of the failure.
On social media, it is clear that the discontent isn’t limited to the Cuban capital, which has been exceptionally affected by this partial power outage. Criticism rained down from every province over what has been a hellish summer, with the largest electricity shortages on record. From Matanzas to Mayabeque to Guantánamo, the messages of weariness and discontent were relentless, including criticism of the unfulfilled promises of the authorities—who months ago assured that things would improve by July—and the excessive investment to support tourism, while the tourists haven’t arrived.
“Either this is all a lie from you so you don’t have to say you’ve run out of fuel, or the on-again-off-again you’ve set up is catching up with you.
“The causes are two,” one user retorted. “Either this is all a lie from you guys so you don’t have to say you ran out of fuel, or the on-again-off-again system you’ve set up is catching up with you. No electrical system is designed for the on-and-off system you set up. Much less ours, which has been running for years.”
Amid this situation, the imminent departure of the Turkish barge Suheyla Sultan is expected. Last night, it was still operating in Havana Bay, but its departure was announced by UNE’s technical director, Lázaro Guerra, who attributed it to “commercial reasons.”
“Actions are being taken to ensure this condition doesn’t worsen the impact on our current service,” the engineer added. Although the shutdown was expected for this Saturday, it was still active on Sunday. The 240 MW the Turkish patana (floating power plant) can provide, if operating at full capacity, would seriously aggravate the situation in the middle of August.
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