Priority will be given to “those owners who collaborate in the charging of rechargeable equipment”
14ymedio, Havana, 15 February 2025 — With the Island in check due to the “complex energy situation,” the national electricity system (SEN) cannot get a break. The deficit forecast for this Saturday, of 1,405 megawatts (MW), indicates that the work stoppage for non-essential industries and recreational activities throughout the country does not contribute decisively to mitigating the debacle.
In Artemisa, to “face the energy contingency,” the authorities have organized a sale of fuel for generators that will benefit 350 people. The operation, however, has its requirements: priority will be given to “those owners who collaborate in the charging of rechargeable equipment (cell phones, lamps, fans), who have been previously notified.”
They are 100 residents of the popular councils of Lincoln, Cayajabo and Corojal, in addition to 50 of Lavandero. “The remaining popular councils will benefit from the sale gradually,” explains El Artemiseño.
The “ideal,” it adds, is that those who come to buy the fuel have a Fincimex card, although it does not clarify what will happen if they don’t.
The plan is that in each area the inhabitants can find a spot where they can recharge their electronic equipment
The plan is that in each area the inhabitants can find a spot where they can recharge their electronic equipment. This gives the measure of what the authorities themselves expect from the next few days in terms of energy.
One more requirement makes the measure worrying: The sale will be made in the Cupet on March 13 at a rate of 10 liters per person,” warns the media, which concludes: “The purchase of a larger quantity is not allowed.”
The promised 10 liters will barely be enough for a few hours, but the Electric Union does not plan a significant recovery of the SEN for the time being. With the promise of incorporating three Mariel fuel oil engines by this afternoon, which would provide 110 MW, the deficit would still be above 1,000, a figure that has been normalized in Cuban reality because it’s been weeks since the deficit fell below that number.
The same would happen if the damaged unit of Santa Cruz del Norte, in Mayabeque, out of the game for a few days, or unit 1 of the Felton (Holguín), which is under repair, enters the SEN.
As for the sale of fuel for generators, the measure began last November in Havana, when the gas stations in the municipality of Plaza de la Revolución began to dispatch 20 liters for each customer with a generator that was authorized by the municipal mayor.
If you do not arrive at the time assigned to your group or do not see the notice, buyers must resign themselves to starting in the virtual line again
This type of management has spread in recent months throughout the Island, and in provinces such as Havana, Cienfuegos and Holguín, sales are organized through numbers delivered to buyers. With the list in hand, the service centers start calling those numbers at certain times, and the customers go to buy the fuel, which is separated from that intended for vehicle drivers.
If they do not arrive at the time assigned to their group or do not see the notice, buyers must resign themselves to starting in the virtual line again.
However, the fall in the individual quota from 20 to 10 liters reveals that the Island is experiencing a new period of shortages in oil. Last January, crude oil shipments from Venezuela – which used to be the main oil partner of the Island – fell to a historic low of just 10,000 barrels per day (bpd), 65% less than last December, when they reached 29,000.
The fuel shortage has hit all key sectors of the economy, including the sugar harvest
The fuel shortage has hit all key sectors of the economy, including the sugar harvest, half completed and now in precarious condition. In the province of Artemisa itself, it was not until this Friday that the November 30 sugar mill began grinding, three months after the start of the campaign was declared.
“From the start there are 31 days of harvest, and we should not have problems to fulfill the plan,” the directors of the mill explained to the press, “if the necessary fuel comes in.”
In a context of blackouts that last up to 20 hours or exceed a day, there is only one word for the Cuban regime: “saving.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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