With the Guiteras thermoelectric plant offline, UNE anticipates an outage of 2,147 MW tonight.
14ymedio, Havana, May 25, 2026 / “Let the police come, I’ll tell them what’s going on in this país de pinga [fucked up country]!” The woman who exclaimed the curse word in broad daylight this Monday on San Rafael Boulevard in Central Havana is not the only one. Frustration has replaced civility in the streets. “There’s no water, no electricity, nothing,” laments another resident of the same neighborhood, who has been without power since 3:00 AM.
The complaints are the public’s expression of the figures reported daily by the Cuban Electric Union (UNE), which again forecasts a deficit exceeding 2,000 megawatts (MW) for this Monday . For the evening peak hours—when a total of 3,250 MW is needed—only 1,133 MW are expected to be available, just over a third of the maximum demand. The actual impact will be 2,147 MW.
Public discontent has led to collective protests that have intensified in recent days. According to videos circulating on social media, among the most notable demonstrations on Sunday night were those that took place on Monte Street in Old Havana. Dozens of people banged pots and pans, blocked roads, and burned garbage cans in the streets, in addition to shouting slogans that went beyond demands related to shortages. In the videos, protesters can be heard demanding food and electricity, but they also chanted in unison, “Freedom!”
Testimonies gathered by Martí Noticias report that residents of the area had been without power for 14 hours. “It’s practically a daily occurrence,” one neighbor stated. “Sometimes we’ve been without electricity for 18, 20, even 22 hours.” Residents also lamented that, due to the blackouts, pumps are unable to operate, leaving some areas without water.
After the protest, the electricity service was restored, and in the videos it can be seen that, even with the lights back on, the neighbors continued shouting “Freedom!”
According to reports, power was restored after the protest. Videos show that even with the lights back on, residents continued shouting “Freedom!”
In this context, the Russian oil tanker Universal, carrying an estimated 250,000 barrels of diesel—whose initial destination was presumably Cuba and which had been stranded in the Atlantic for weeks —has finally increased its speed to move further away from the Caribbean. Specialist Jorge Piñón, a researcher at the University of Texas Energy Institute, confirmed the ship’s change of course to 14ymedio.
“It’s not just the change of route, but also the speed. After more than thirty days in limbo, the Universal has clearly changed course (southeast), entering the South Atlantic, far from Cuban shores,” stated Piñón, who clarified, however, that the vessel’s final destination still does not appear on the tracking platforms. “Its speed has increased from 1.3 knots to 10.5 knots, which indicates a specific destination.”
The Universal is part of the Russian oil tanker fleet under sanctions for the invasion of Ukraine. Opacity regarding its destination is common in high-risk maritime operations, especially when the vessels are subject to surveillance, sanctions, and financial restrictions. Although the U.S. Treasury Department has extended authorization for transactions related to Russian oil until May 17, 2026, Cuba was excluded from that measure.
After more than thirty days in limbo, the Universal has made a clear change of course (southeast) entering the South Atlantic, far from Cuban coasts
The only oil shipment received by Cuba after the last one sent by Mexico on January 9 — more than 80,000 barrels of fuel aboard the Ocean Mariner — was from the Russian tanker Anatoly Kolodkin , which unloaded some 730,000 barrels of crude oil in Matanzas at the end of March. That supply ran out a few weeks later.
The Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, acknowledged on May 14th that the country had “absolutely no fuel, no diesel.” According to the minister, the island would need eight ships a month, like the Anatoly Kolodkin, to cover the minimum fuel demand.
Adding to the crude oil shortage is the collapse of the national electricity system (SEN), plagued by years of deterioration, lack of maintenance, and resource scarcity. This week also began with another shutdown of the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant — the country’s largest generating unit — which has suffered repeated breakdowns in recent months.
According to Román Pérez Castañeda, general manager of Guiteras, the unit will need to be offline for three to four days, starting from the breakdown that occurred early Sunday morning. He emphasized to the press that although the plant has been offline for short periods in recent weeks, this is not due to poorly executed repairs, but rather to breakdowns occurring in different locations.
The director insisted that although the plant has been shutting down for short periods of time in recent weeks, this is not due to poorly executed repairs.
In addition to the outage at the Guiteras plant, the UNE report adds other incidents throughout the National Electric System (SEN), such as breakdowns at the Ernesto Guevara thermoelectric plant, Unit 2 of the Lidio Ramón Pérez plant, and Units 3 and 5 of the Antonio Maceo plant; as well as maintenance shutdowns at Unit 5 of the Mariel plant, Unit 6 of the Renté plant, and Unit 5 of the Nuevitas plant. The Regla floating power plant, meanwhile, remains shut down due to a lack of fuel.
Amid this debacle, the UNE presents as an achievement the electrical contribution of the 54 photovoltaic solar parks, which reached a maximum power of 480 MW during the day yesterday, despite having an installed capacity of 1,200 MW.
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