The National Electric System was restored at 7:00 a.m., an hour after Felton 1 came online, as residents predict the next collapse is close at hand
14ymedio, Madrid, July 15, 2026 / The National Electric System (SEN) has been connected since 7:00 a.m. this Wednesday, just over an hour after Unit 1 of the Felton thermoelectric plant in Holguín came online. The recovery from this collapse – which occurred around 11:00 a.m. Tuesday and was the third in eight days and the fifth so far this year – was the fastest of the recent incidents, despite the fuel shortage weighing down the restart.
To reconnect the SEN, past experience shows, generation must begin with easy-start sources – solar, hydroelectric and generator engines – to supply small areas known as microsystems, which are then progressively interconnected.
By early this morning, Havana had recovered all 24 substations in the capital, 100%, though this does not mean customers have service. The provincial power company reported that 68 circuits had service, benefiting 205,125 customers with a total of 211 megawatts, or 24% of residents.
Havana’s 43 hospitals and four water supply systems with five pumping stations are in better shape.
Havana’s 43 hospitals in Havana and four water supply systems with five pumps are in a better situation.
Customers have not stopped complaining, even after learning that the system was reconnected. Most remained without power, either because their circuit still had no service or because it was their turn for the scheduled outage. “All we can do is pray and have a lot of faith that it doesn’t go down again,” one user wrote. “You’ll see, the day after tomorrow. Keep praying,” another replied.
Although most expressed admiration for the enormous effort being made by electrical workers across the country, frustration with the way things are being managed runs deep. “How many minutes will it last this time? And there are places that still haven’t found out, because the only light they’ve seen is the sun’s,” one customer lamented.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines confirmed that all Energás units were operating, while Units 3 and 4 of the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes thermoelectric plant and Felton 1 were in the process of starting up around midnight.
Minister Vicente de la O Levy, in his appearance on Tuesday, attributed the new incident to oscillations in the national grid that caused a generating unit to drop out, triggering a domino effect that disconnected several more plants until the system collapsed entirely.
The official also said the collapse of the SEN caused a new leak in the boiler of the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, the country’s main generating unit, and that the number of days needed to repair it would be reported in due course.
He further revealed that breakdowns are increasing in Havana because of the overload on circuits and transformers caused by the system’s instability.
According to his account, an estimated 13,000 of the capital’s 33,000 transformers are operating under overload, which is why 15 line crews from other provinces will arrive in the capital this Wednesday to help divide circuits, expand capacity and replace equipment.
Orders have also been given to double local production at the transformer factory to guarantee the supply of components.
At the end of June, Edier Guzmán Pacheco, the state utility’s director of thermal generation, presented the schedule for bringing several thermoelectric units online in July “to face the summer with better generation levels.”
The first to come online was to be Unit 5 at Mariel, on July 1, followed by Unit 6 of 10 de Octubre, in Nuevitas, on July 8 or 9; Unit 6 at Mariel, on the 15th; Unit 3 in Havana, on the 20th; and Unit 5 at Renté, on the 26th.
If the plan were met, 400 MW would have been recovered this month, but the official warned: “This should not be added in strictly arithmetic fashion to the capacity currently available, since the National Electric System remains in constant operation and there is a risk that new breakdowns will occur in other units.”
Now at the midpoint of July, the result is three total system collapses, along with the unsettling sense that it will keep happening – even as it matters less and less to people. “At this rate,” one UNE customer joked on social media, “they’ll start publishing a schedule for the SEN’s collapses.”
Translated by GH.
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