In a year marked by blackouts, this journalist tells how much darkness awaits Cubans, although many of them can’t even tune in to Canal Caribe
14ymedio, Havana, December 29, 2024 — One of the most popular faces on Cuban television is that of Bernardo Espinosa Moya, and not precisely because of the joy he usually brings. This journalist, based at the headquarters of the Unión Eléctrica de Cuba, has almost had to form a duet with Lázaro Guerra, engineer and general director of electricity of the Ministry of Energy and Mines.
In a year marked more than ever by blackouts and total disconnections, Espinosa is the voice that every morning tells how much darkness awaits Cubans, although many of them cannot even tune in to Canal Caribe, because a programmed or untimely power cut prevents them from turning on the television or seeing a fragment of the Buenos Días Magazine on social networks.
Espinosa graduated in journalism in 1990 from the University of Oriente and has specialized ever since in hydraulic resources, transport and the mining and energy sectors. His official biography indicates that he has carried out missions in several Latin American countries (Honduras, Guatemala, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia) and African countries (Zimbabwe and Mozambique). He was given awards by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo in Nicaragua, by Félix Elmusa of the Union of Journalists and by the Ministry of Public Health for his coverage of the so-called “medical missions.”
Another recognition that draws attention in his career is the one made by the Ministry of the Armed Forces for his coverage of the “funeral honors of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz”
Another recognition that draws attention in his career is the one made by the Ministry of the Armed Forces for his coverage of the “funeral honors of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz.” Among his special reports, in addition, are those of the 7th Congress of the Communist Party, the 6th plenary of the Central Committee of the PCC, sessions of the National Assembly and “weather events and National Energy Contingency.”
Little or none of this matters to most Cubans, who only see in Espinosa’s face the bad news of each day. Although they sometimes wake up with happy news, such as that the payment was finally made that allows a ship to unload liquefied gas or oil that temporarily relieves their worries, or that some thermoelectric plant or the other was back online, the expert usually talks about a growing deficit in electricity generation.
The blackouts are nothing new in Cuba, which has experienced two years of pain in this regard. Thermal power plants are dying from old age, and “maintenance” consists of a bandaid on an open wound. The supply of crude oil is increasingly inaccessible due to the lack of foreign exchange, despite the efforts of Venezuela, Mexico and Russia. These problems, in addition to the lack of governmemt investment when it was still possible to avoid this disaster, suffocate the national electricity system (SEN) so much that this end of the year has been agonizing, with three total disconnections and the constant threat of another one at any time.
In summer, the Ministry of Energy and Mines presented a plan for the construction of solar parks with the collaboration of China that, if it had been implemented ten years ago, would have been timely. Minister of Energy and Mines Vicente de la O Levy announced in September – coinciding with the decommissioning of the 60-year old Tallapiedra thermoelectric plant – that in early 2025 there would be almost 500 megawatts of installed solar power that would improve the situation. The minister then believed that after the winter, when demand falls due to the relief of temperatures, the new year would give a break to the sector. The worst was yet to come, with the complete collapses of the National Electric System in October, November and December. Experts predict that, at best, the Chinese solar parks will not begin generating electricity until 2027.
Translated by Regina Anavy
See also: The 14 Cuban Faces of 2024
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