The deficit forecast by UNE for this Wednesday marks a record of 1,870 megawatts
14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Madrid, 12 February 2025 — The Electric Union forecasts a record deficit of 1,870 megawatts (MW) for this Wednesday. The last time the authorities announced a similar figure – in October of last year – the country was quickly plunged into a total blackout. The temperature is around 31° and the tension is at its highest in a country where some areas have already been without power for more than 25 hours. And they are still counting.
In Cienfuegos, one of the cities hardest hit by the power cut – by midday on Wednesday they had been without electricity for 26 hours – many have given up going to work and are sitting in their doorways, waiting for a “bright light” that will not come in time to prepare lunch.
Most private businesses have not opened their doors either. The city is paralyzed by the blackout and the Telegram channel of the Electric Company in the province has not given the slightest hope: “At this time, due to the situation that the country is going through, the hours of impact have increased to 25 and 3 hours with service.” Between these two disproportionate numbers oscillates the life of many Cienfuegos residents, whose routine has been radically disrupted by the debacle.
“You have a lot of things to get done, because nowadays everything is digital and without electricity you can’t work”
“You have nothing to do all day,” Jorge, a student at the University of Cienfuegos, told 14ymedio. The energy situation is making the start of the semester difficult for him. “You have a lot of things to get done, because nowadays everything is digital and without electricity you can’t work.”
Frustrated, he tried to find “refuge” on Tuesday in one of the hotels in the historic city center, which did have electricity generated by a power plant. “To be able to stay there, you had to consume. Prices were sky-high: 200 pesos for a coffee, 300 for a lemonade, 500 for a sangria. Even to finish a job you have to pay in this country,” he laments.
In the municipality of Villa Clara, the capital of the neighboring province, the power cuts are a nightmare. “It went out at 4:00 am and came back at 7:00,” says Diana, a housewife who lives near Parque Vidal. “Then it went out again and we are still in a blackout. Yesterday, miraculously, there was power all day in my circuit, but the one in front of it was cut off. Today they announced more than 1,800 MW. Could it be that a total blackout is coming again?”
Neither the Government nor the Minister of Energy and Mines have given any warning signs. At 7:30 am on Wednesday, Félix Estrada, director of the National Cargo Office, appeared on Cuban Television to report that the UNE faces a “very complex” situation and that the deficit of 1,870 is “quite large.”
The recovery of the Felton Power Plant will take “seven days of cooling to detect the fault.”
The “unexpected” shutdown –the adjective in use, despite the evident instability of the power plants – of unit 1 of the Felton thermoelectric plant in Holguín on Tuesday upset the national electrical system (SEN) for the umpteenth time. The sequence of the total blackout in October is repeated: on that occasion, the fall of another power plant, the Antonio Guiteras in Matanzas, was what dragged down the entire system.
The recovery of the Felton will take “seven days of cooling to detect the fault,” said the director. In total, according to the daily report of the Electric Union, it is estimated that the repair will take 20 days to complete. Estrada explained that there are also several units out of service at the Santa Cruz (Mayabeque) and Renté (Santiago de Cuba) plants.
Wednesday’s figure has no equal in the last two years. It is a record in the face of which the government’s silence is disconcerting. Havana has placed its hopes – at least officially – on the solar panels that China intends to install wholesale throughout the island.
At the bottom of official publications, both in the press and on UNE’s social media profiles, the disgust is no longer hidden. “Everything is inhumane. There is no note to what is happening. Children, elderly people without food, without being able to sleep a wink, waiting for the power to take a sip of food and nothing, degrading,” lamented user Maidelis Bencomo.
“The only thing these numbers and the situation tell me,” added user Daniel González, “is that we are on the verge of another general blackout, 1,800 MW of deficit, that says it all and with the situation with the generation we will spend at least a week without electricity. Shame and abuse to the people.
Finally, user Dayron Lavin made fun of it: “We are two steps away from reaching 2,000 [MW of deficit]. I am running to see the president of the CDR and the rest of the ’factors’ of the neighborhood to prepare the activity… Congratulations, UNE. Strength, Cuba.”
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