Priority circuits, such as the hospital and the dairy plant, are also affected.
14ymedio
14ymedio, Havana, 21 November 2025– The electricity situation is critical, and only solar parks provide a “daytime respite.” With these words, without sugar coating it, and right from the headline, Invasor paints the picture in Ciego de Ávila this Friday. According to Lester Arencibia Bacallao, director of the Provincial Load Office of the Electricity Company, the territory is suffering from “maximum blackouts”, i.e. power cuts that last up to 24 hours a day.
For this reason, they are prioritising the circuits that supply power to “essential services”, such as the Provincial Hospital and the Dairy Plant. However, even these are not immune to power cuts: three and a half hours of blackout for every three and a half hours with power.
Arencibia responded to a “frequent concern among the population” – “Why are these circuits so extensive and not segmented to free up energy for more areas?” – without providing much clarification. “These circuits have been physically like this for many years. This is how they have been configured,” he explained to the provincial newspaper (which comments in a final note that the text was generated by artificial intelligence based on information provided by the official).
Making changes “requires very costly investments, such as laying 33-kilovolt lines and installing substations, resources that are not available in the current economic situation.”
Making changes, Arencibia explained, “requires very costly investments, such as laying 33-kilovolt (kV) lines and installing substations, resources that are not available in the current economic situation.”
As for the “non-priority” circuits, the aim is to ensure that power cuts do not exceed 12 consecutive hours, but the official acknowledged that with the current deficit “this is impossible”. He explained: “Sometimes, the circuits even exceed 12 to 14 hours. They have even reached 19 and 20 consecutive hours without power.”
He also addressed the extent to which solar parks alleviate the situation. Although he said that photovoltaic generation is “the main palliative” – in Ciego de Ávila there are three 21.4 MW solar parks and four smaller ones, with a total capacity of more than 76 MW – he pointed out that this type of energy “is intermittent”.
The greatest contribution they can make, between 10:30 and 14:30, is also fragile, simply caused by a cloud. “This volatile nature, coupled with the lack of storage systems, prevents this energy from being available in a stable manner and for the critical night-time peak hours,” says Invasor. Arencibia adds: “During the day, solar parks save many tonnes of fuel… and if we do the maths and didn’t have any of those parks, the situation would be much worse.”
Although the interview focused on the province of Ciego de Ávila, the official went on to draw conclusions about the rest of the country: until the “structural problems of national thermal power generation” are resolved, the situation “will continue to be complex”.
One of the damaged facilities was the Hermanos Díaz Oil Refining Company, which is responsible for fuel supplies throughout the east.
On the subject of energy, if there is any news in the official press, it refers to the effects of Hurricane Melissa, which almost a month later are still being felt in eastern Cuba. One of the damaged facilities was the Hermanos Díaz Oil Refining Company in Santiago de Cuba, which is responsible for fuel supplies from Las Tunas to Guantánamo. “Diesel, fuel for electricity generation, kerosene for mountainous areas, lubricants and other derivatives depend on its stable operation,” Juan Jesús Alfonso López, director of Refining at Cupet, told Sierra Maestra.
At the refinery, the newspaper reports, “work is continuing around the clock to restore the plant to full operation.” Hurricane-force winds – reaching speeds of up to 200 kilometres an hour – caused “severe damage to internal electrical networks, thermal insulation, sea containment barriers and other systems critical to the refining process.”
This Thursday, President Miguel Díaz-Canel, once again dressed in olive green, visited areas in the provinces of Santiago de Cuba and Granma, the hardest hit by the cyclone. He noted that 96.43% of electricity service has been restored. “There are still 9,000 customers in remote areas, which we are working on,” he said.
Meanwhile, the daily deficit is returning to its pre-hurricane levels, once again approaching 2,000 MW. On Wednesday, the Cuban Electric Union recorded a shortfall of 1,964 MW during peak demand hours in the late afternoon and evening. For the following day, 1,494 MW were expected to be available for a demand of 3,200 MW, meaning that the deficit would be 1,706 MW, although the actual impact was expected to be 1,776 MW.
Six thermoelectric power plants (CTE) are out of service due to breakdowns or maintenance: one in Felton, three in CTE Renté, another in Santa Cruz and one more in Cienfuegos, as well as the gas plant in Puerto Escondido, Varadero.
Translated by GH.
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