In addition, the exodus has drastically reduced the number of trained experts authorized to approve these systems
14ymedio, Madrid, April 7, 2026 – The controversy has not ceased since Julio César Hernández Santana, head of the Municipal Directorate of Territorial Planning and Urbanism (INOTU) in Matanzas, tried to clarify on local television the regulations for installing solar panels in homes, and a monumental mess ensued.
The official explained the mechanism, expressed in a directive from INOTU, which requires that the citizen begin the process at the Physical Planning offices, from where they will be referred to the community architect to draft a technical project. This preliminary step is essential for safety, as it evaluates the load-bearing capacity of the building and the specific location of the equipment.
Once the property documents and technical certification are submitted, the institution has a period of ten working days to issue official authorization, which costs 68 pesos, although the problem is more closely linked to the architectural project, which ranges between 700 and 1,500 pesos.
The problem is more closely linked to the architectural project, which ranges between 700 and 1,500 pesos
The regulation recognizes roofs, terraces, patios, garages, and porches as areas where panels can be installed, provided they are private spaces and do not harm neighbors. This complicates the situation for multifamily buildings, where residents’ agreement is required and space is scarce. The condition of the buildings is also a significant issue, since damaging the waterproofing layers of the roof is possible, with leaks and neighborhood disputes as potential consequences.
In the case of panels already installed, about 33,000 in Matanzas, there is what Hernández called flexible retroactivity, meaning there will be no fines when the regulation comes into force, but the panels must be regularized. Responsibility for safety will fall on the owner, but obtaining authorization will provide protection in case of a complaint if something happens.
Although authorities acknowledge the urgency and necessity, the procedure adds complexity that has not been well received, above all, as they themselves admit, because the crisis on the Island is multisectoral. Families lack the financial resources to buy the expensive panels, and now procedures are added that increase the cost. The conditions of the buildings is often deplorable; transportation is also poor, and staffing is reduced due to the exodus that has occurred on the Island over the past four years. In Matanzas there are barely three community architects, making it almost impossible to process everything within a reasonable time.
Yuni Moliner, the journalist responsible for the controversial interview, was the first to highlight the issue by the title of the report: ORDERING or more BUREAUCRACY? The author notes that “the measure attempts to introduce control in a practice that has grown rapidly and, in many cases, improvised. However, it comes at a time when solar panels are not just an option, but an immediate energy necessity for thousands of families,” and emphasizes that, looking ahead, it provides legal certainty, but in an emergency situation only complicates matters.
One of the most well-founded comments came from energy expert Juan Carlos Subiaut, who raises additional problems beyond the already mentioned lack of human and material resources. Among them he highlights the well-known inefficiency of the institution due to its “ineffectiveness, corruption, voluntary and involuntary loss of documents,” lines, errors, and “other etceteras.” In addition, the specialist considers that it is not consistent with the government’s own policy, which, although it has eliminated tariffs and other taxes and created specific loans, in this case authorities are “quick to create problems for a solution that is, today, imperative.”
Subiaut adds that there are countless problems in cities, ranging from garbage dumps to water leaks and other misuse of resources that “occur under the passive gaze, I won’t say complicit, of that agency, but it has not spoken out about those illegalities.”
Subiaut adds that there are countless problems in cities, ranging from garbage dumps to water leaks and other misuse of resources that “occur under the passive gaze, I won’t say complicit, of that agency
These measures are joined by urban planning and architectural regulations, including those affecting historic centers, which involve additional authorizations from the Office of the Historian, among others, those governing respect for the urban image such as alterations to façades, and compliance with fire safety and discharge regulations.
The debate sparked by these regulations has generated thousands of comments on social media in which many citizens are expressing their discontent, already heightened by the many months of long blackouts with no solution in sight. “You really have to be shameless for this. People are installing panels not because they want to, but because necessity has driven them there,” says one user. “What they should do is provide electric service like all countries in the world do and stop making our lives harder,” adds another.
Experts have also become active and try to explain that the State is right to regulate these issues, but the timing should lead to relaxation or a moratorium, expressing more measured opinions. Meanwhile, Cuba’s Electric Union has again forecast a deficit of 1,840 megawatts for this Tuesday, one day after the Guiteras thermoelectric plant in Matanzas went offline again.
The two Turkish floating power plants [‘patanas‘] that were widely discussed this Monday and which, as the government itself has denied, are not more than those already on the Island, will have to wait until mid-April to receive the Russian oil that arrived a week ago and whose refining is yet to begin. The Belgin Sultan, moored in the port of Havana, has a production capacity of just 15 megawatts (MW), while the Erol Bey, located in Regla, contributes 63 MW to the national electrical system, which requires more than 3,000 MW to meet daily nationwide demand.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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