Cuba imported more fuel in 2023 than the previous year to generate electricity and thus compensate, mainly, the continued fall in the production of its obsolete thermoelectric power plants.
This is the main conclusion drawn from the annual report “Electricity in Cuba. Selected Indicators 2023″, published Monday by the National Statistics and Information Office (ONEI).
According to these figures, gross national generation fell by 2.5 % in 2023 compared to the previous year, to 15 331.1 GW, almost exclusively due to a decline in the output of the so-called Utilities, a category made up mainly of the country’s seven thermoelectric power plants.
In addition, one of the graphs provided by the report shows that the reduction was 74 % concerning the figures reported in 2019.
The import of electric energy increased by 73.5 %, from 2590.7 to 4493.8 GW, in the form of fuel used (directly or after refining) in the 1356 generators distributed throughout the country and in the rented floating power plants.
Thus, the energy generated by imported fuel reached 31 % of that produced in thermoelectric power plants with domestic oil.
On the other hand, consumption increased by 8 % in year-on-year terms, largely driven by increases in state demand (15.6 %) and residential demand (12.2 %).
The loss of electricity in transmission and distribution rose by 8.4% year-on-year and, according to ONEI figures, accounted for 18.7% of total energy generation.
According to the report, fossil fuels accounted for 96.4% of Cuba’s energy mix, while renewables accounted for only 3.6% after their production fell by 6.4% compared to the previous year. Cuba has a stated goal that renewables should account for 24% by 2030.
The Cuban electricity system is in a precarious situation: its power plants are obsolete after more than four decades of use and the chronic lack of investments and adequate maintenance.
To this has been added the shortage of imported fuel, due to a lack of foreign currency from the Cuban State or problems in contracting it, according to the government.
Efe/OnCuba.
