{"id":315686,"date":"2024-12-29T15:57:33","date_gmt":"2024-12-29T20:57:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=315686"},"modified":"2026-02-11T11:59:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T16:59:14","slug":"2024-the-darkest-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/2024-the-darkest-year\/","title":{"rendered":"2024, the darkest year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Talking about the <\/span>energy crisis in Cuba<\/span><\/a> is like adding insult to injury. A situation that shows no signs of ceasing, month after month, week after week, and that, on the contrary, has been turning into an endless problem, a disastrous and paralyzing storm for the depressed national economy, and a population <\/span>that has diminished in number of inhabitants and is aging<\/b><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of the last few years, 2024 has been the darkest. Despite successive government plans to mitigate the crisis, long and constant power cuts have plagued the days and nights of Cubans, and have provoked constant criticism, and also street protests.<\/span><\/p>\n

Burdened by the age and overexploitation of its power plants, the chronic fuel shortage, and the State\u2019s financial inability to turn things around, this year the National Electric Power System (SEN) has seen its generating capacity decline and has collapsed on several occasions.<\/span><\/p>\n

The situation, <\/span>described<\/b><\/a>\u00a0to the <\/span>National Assembly<\/b><\/a> by Minister of Energy and Mines Vicente de la O Levy, is disastrous. According to De la O, in 2024 the availability of the system \u201creached its lowest levels since 2019,\u201d in recent years 5 units have been lost \u2015 equivalent to a third of the demand \u2015 and distributed generation only produces 37% of its capacity.<\/span><\/p>\n

If that were not enough, the electrical infrastructure suffered the onslaught of strong natural phenomena. Darkness reigned in the affected areas and even throughout the country, due to another general disconnection caused by the winds of <\/span>Hurricane Rafael<\/b><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Given this overwhelming reality, the government has had to modulate its discourse and recognize that the end of the blackouts is practically impossible in the current circumstances, and transfer its promise of possible improvement to medium and long-term plans with a projected increase in <\/span>renewable energies<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the threshold of 2025, the year in which the authorities foresee a gradual advance in the country\u2019s electricity scenario \u2015 although, <\/span>they have warned<\/span><\/a>, it would not be immediate \u2015 <\/span>OnCuba<\/b> proposes an approach to what has happened in the last 12 months in a sector recognized by the government as \u201cstrategic and sensitive.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sistema Electroenerg\u00e9tico de Cuba: los derroteros de una crisis<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n