Cuban economist Juan Triana suggests that the government involve the private sector in energy production
14ymedio, Madrid, September 18, 2025 — Rita Rosa Ruesga, from Santiago, was nominated this Wednesday by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for the Grammy Award for Best Children’s Music Album by Jirafas. It is a story of musical theater that the artist defines as “full of hope for those who have to go in search of a dream beyond their homes.” The music, a mixture of styles as national as son, danzón, rumba and marchas, is also “for mothers who, at some point, must let our children fly away.”
It is the fifth time that the artist, based in Miami for years and dedicated to writing books and children’s music, will vie for the golden gramophone, but this time, she says, there is something that distinguishes the nomination from previous occasions. “There is something unique about my project, which is that the musicians who recorded from Cuba did it when the power came on, on an empty stomach, but with the ideas and the illusion of this project as a real injection of life,” she explained in a press release.
Cuban artist Iris Fundora created the illustrations that accompany the album. Her contribution is closely related to the reality of the island. “She painted the illustrations of the giraffes by candlelight in the evenings,” adds Rita Rosa, who dedicates the nomination — in words sent to 14ymedio — to the Cuban part of the musical team and to Fundora herself, for their effort in the midst of a national crisis. “They are the real honorees.”
Details such as this perfectly illustrate the transversality of the energy emergency, which is a constant event in all areas. Last night, just 40 kilometers from the hometown of Rita Rosa Ruesga (Palma Soriano), in the province’s capital city, Santiago de Cuba, another blackout occurred with the cut of 110 kilowatts, which shut down the substations Héctor Pavón, Santiago Norte and Este. Although the technicians repaired the breakdown in just one hour, the population is almost indifferent to these events, which barely affect the long hours they spend without electricity.
“Here in the district today, the power has not returned since it left, at 6 am,” said a resident 24 hours later
“Here in the district today the power has not returned since it left, at 6 am,” said a resident 24 hours later. “What’s the story? It’s that the Government, which is really the one that should leave, doesn’t.” This was one of more than 150 comments to the post of the provincial electricity company announcing the fix of the fault. Most spoke of a daily average of 17 hours without electricity. This Tuesday, more than 2,000 megawatts (MW) were cut, and yesterday (Wednesday), a deficit of 1,990 MW was expected, although finally the amount remained at a not-negligible 1,885 MW, similar to the 1,830 planned for this Thursday.
Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy again appeared before the press to “update” the situation of the national electrical system, although he said absolutely nothing new, beyond the renewal of a date for solving the problems.
This time, the next horizon has been set for the weekend, when Felton 1 and Renté 5 should return, and the following days, when oil — whose absence has caused a more pronounced electricity deficit than gasoline, he said — should arrive. The next is in October, with the incorporation of units 4 of the CTE Carlos Manuel de Céspedes (Cienfuegos) and 2 of the Santa Cruz del Norte. But there is a shadow that clouds everything, and it is the exit of the Guiteras unit, in Matanzas, which will occur “in December, taking advantage of the period of lower electricity demand.” The increase in solar energy, during daylight hours, does not compensate for the loss; even though the electricity is now at 650 MW, it is still very low.
“According to United Nations data, renewable energies accounted for 30 per cent of electricity consumption at the beginning of this decade. In Cuba at that time, it barely reached 4% of the generation,” reports economist Juan Triana Cordoví in an article published this Wednesday in OnCuba. Although he concedes that the new data show a rapid escalation in photovoltaics, the lost time takes a toll.
“The expert claims the urgent need for the private sector to enter energy production, citing the positive “generation experience with a 100%-foreign thermal power plant on the Isla de la Juventud”
The expert claims the urgent need for the private sector to enter energy production, citing the positive “generation experience with a 100%-foreign thermal power plant, now state owned, on the Isla de la Juventud.” Triana Cordoví reviews all the attempted strategies, including the failure of bioelectric pipes, the zero investment in wind energy, the millions in non-refundable expenditures on Turkish floating power plants and the unsustainable subsidy to the electricity bill, which is paid in pesos when the system needs dollars.
“I don’t think there is a one-size-fits-all solution, excepting luck, and that rarely happens,” he says after considering that any contribution, including support for single-family solar, is good, but a new comprehensive strategy is needed. “It is time to innovate with business models that contribute to the increase of generation and improvement of service, apart from the centrality of State regulation,” he states, since “having electricity and drinking water is by no means a ‘petty-bourgeois’ aspiration or an aristocratic banality.”
The economist’s article points out that two centuries have passed since the industrial revolution and that two simple elements were essential for this. “Access to water and energy has been a basic requirement for the Homo sapiens herdsman to be radically different from the other herdsmen,” he says. Cuba lacks both and therefore cannot prosper.
Water scarcity, caused by the weather and aggravated by the blackouts, affects more than 3.1 million people -30% of the population-, who suffer a total or partial lack of supply.
The situation is getting to the point where Cienfuegos now depends on Villa Clara for its supply. This Wednesday, both provinces announced an agreement to transfer water from the Hanabanilla reservoir to Paso Bonito, whose levels are seriously low.
“The situation is complex and requires innovative measures,” said Cienfuegos Governor Yolexis Rodríguez Armada. It is expected that tomorrow the water will begin to arrive through the use of pumping systems, and the population is asked not to waste it, which begs another question: “What about the leaks in the water pipes; when will they be fixed?”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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