
{"id":328320,"date":"2025-09-13T09:00:05","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T13:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=328320"},"modified":"2025-09-12T08:42:42","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T12:42:42","slug":"the-inevitable-outages-of-cubas-power-grid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/the-inevitable-outages-of-cubas-power-grid\/","title":{"rendered":"The (inevitable?) outages of Cuba\u2019s power grid"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In a repeating story, this Wednesday at 9:14 a.m., the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/tag\/generacion-electrica-en-cuba\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Cuban National Electric Power System (SEN)<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> suffered another \u201ctotal power outage.\u201d The trigger for the new outage this time was \u2014 or, rather, was again \u2014 an \u201cunforeseen shutdown\u201d of the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, the country\u2019s main unitary block.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PeriodicoGiron\/posts\/pfbid0EiML92jpSmNcYqLUcDCyAtA8a9DvoyZpxHYbGLt1LDEkWcsNJrJiUoVnpkLWvkrKl?locale=es_LA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">According to<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> Rub\u00e9n Campos Olmo, director of the Matanzas plant, \u201ca false signal of superheated steam caused the boiler\u2019s automatic circuit to disarm, thus causing the thermal block to shut down.\u201d Although the problem was later resolved, as the executive himself <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PeriodicoGiron\/posts\/pfbid05jrbh7fwqHMm7bGtzusw4ztSpWHdYa6zZFMEzh8yJxxUqrey2GKvnxynmY4LDfadl?locale=es_LA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">reported<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, the damage had already been done.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Guiteras power outage suddenly reduced the SEN\u2019s power supply by around 200 MW. The system was in a fragile situation due to the previous shutdown of eight thermal units due to breakdowns or maintenance, including Unit 1 at the Felton power plant, another of the island\u2019s major generators.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">What would happen next was predictable. The SEN, which had also suffered the loss of more than 200 MW due to fuel shortages and almost 300 MW due to limitations at operating plants, collapsed like a house of cards, once again leaving all of Cuba in the dark.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Just a few days earlier, a breakdown on a 220 kV line between Nuevitas and Las Tunas <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/cuba\/economia\/con-felton-fuera-de-servicio-un-disparo-en-una-linea-de-220-kv-desconecta-todo-el-oriente-de-cuba\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">had shut down the eastern region<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> and issued a warning. In explaining what happened and addressing the failure to meet official forecasts for the summer, Alfredo L\u00f3pez, director general of the Electricity Conglomerate (UNE), <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/cuba\/economia\/la-situacion-electroenergetica-de-cuba-es-muy-dura-admite-la-une\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">admitted<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202fthat the current electric power situation \u201cis very difficult.\u201d And he was not mistaken in his diagnosis.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The island\u2019s prolonged energy crisis \u2014 caused by the age and poor condition of the thermoelectric plants, chronic fuel shortages and the lack of foreign currency to address this critical situation, catalyzed by U.S. sanctions \u2014 has been worsening over the last year, despite the installation of new photovoltaic parks and the SEN\u2019s recovery strategy proclaimed by the authorities.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The record-breaking power outages exceeding 2,000 MW <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/cuba\/economia\/otro-record-de-afectacion-electrica-en-cuba-el-tercero-en-menos-de-un-mes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">reached in recent months<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> and the blackouts lasting 20 hours or more in various Cuban towns leave no room for doubt.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In this critical scenario, widespread disconnections like yesterday\u2019s are no surprise and are already becoming a resigned part of the Cubans\u2019 social imagination, as well as the government narrative, which places greater emphasis on the undeniable efforts of the sector\u2019s workers to overcome the crisis, rather than on the crisis itself.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The outages and fragility of the SEN<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In less than a year, between the final months of 2024 and the beginning of 2025, Cuba has suffered five total disconnections.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">This figure speaks for itself of the fragility of the SEN during this period, the result \u2014 moreover \u2014 of a cumulative process that doesn\u2019t even date back to the beginning of the current crisis, but much further back. Its basis is the long debt for capital maintenance and necessary replacements, along with poor decisions, suffered by the country\u2019s aging power generation infrastructure.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">If we look at the energy crisis of recent years to attempt a chronology of the system\u2019s collapses, to be fair we would have to go back to the end of September 2022. At that time, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/tag\/huracan-ian\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Hurricane Ian<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> not only left much of the western region without power due to the damage suffered, but also caused a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/cuba\/cuba-entera-sin-servicio-electrico\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">general power outage<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">On that occasion, the cause was the \u201cinstability\u201d caused by the differences in load and generation between the west and east of the country, at a particularly challenging time due to the meteorological event. The restoration of the SEN had to be carried out in this difficult scenario, and even so, many people did not have electricity until the hurricane damage was repaired.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">It wasn\u2019t until two years later, in October of last year, that the next total power outage occurred, although breakdowns and partial outages occurred before \u2014 and after \u2014 such as those that left the center and east of the country without power <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/cuba\/dos-tercios-de-cuba-sin-corriente-por-un-error-humano\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">in February 2023<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Chronology of power outages<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">From the final quarter of 2024 to date, the overall outages in the SEN have been as follows:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">1-<\/span><\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/cuba\/economia\/desconexion-total-del-sistema-electroenergetico-en-cuba-por-salida-imprevista-de-la-guiteras\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">October 18, 2024<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">: Like this Wednesday, an \u201cunforeseen outage\u201d at the Guiteras thermoelectric plant was the cause of the collapse that occurred around 11:00 a.m., one day after the government <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/cuba\/economia\/ante-la-emergencia-energetica-el-gobierno-paraliza-actividades-economicas-y-busca-controlar-al-sector-privado\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">declared<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202fa \u201cnational energy emergency\u201d amid a severe surge in blackouts. Recovery lasted almost five days, with further outages while work was underway.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">2-<\/span><\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/cuba\/fuertes-vientos-provocan-la-desconexion-del-sistema-electrico-nacional\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">November 6, 2024<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">: Less than a month after the previous outage, the SEN collapsed again during <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/tag\/huracan-rafael\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Hurricane Rafael<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. The outage occurred shortly before 3:00 p.m., due to \u201ca simultaneous tripping of several circuits due to the impact of the winds,\u201d according to the UNE. As happened during Hurricane Ian, the restoration efforts were marked by the damage caused by the storm.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">3-<\/span><\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/cuba\/economia\/cuba-vuelve-a-quedarse-a-oscuras-por-otra-desconexion-total-del-sistema-electrico\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">December 4, 2024<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">: The Guiteras was again responsible for the disconnection. The massive blackout occurred in the early hours of the morning, at 2:08 a.m., due to a \u201ctrip of the automatic switch\u201d at the Matanzas power plant. This time, however, the recovery was faster and the system was back online <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/cuba\/economia\/cuba-restablece-su-sistema-electrico-con-la-guiteras-y-felton-ya-en-linea\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">in just one day<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> thanks to the power supply of the main generating plants.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">4-<\/span><\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/cuba\/economia\/vuelve-a-colapsar-el-sistema-electrico-de-cuba-comienzan-a-recuperarse-microsistemas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">March 14, 2025<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">: The fourth collapse in six months and the first of 2025. It occurred at 8:15 p.m. and was not caused this time by a meteorological phenomenon or a breakdown at one of the country\u2019s main thermoelectric plants, but rather by a breakdown at the Diezmero substation in Havana, which caused a \u201chigh oscillation\u201d in the SEN (electric power system). <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/cuba\/economia\/crisis-energetica-el-sistema-electrico-vuelve-a-enlazarse-totalmente-pero-siguen-los-apagones\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Complete reconnection<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> took two days.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">5-<\/span><\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/cuba\/economia\/el-sen-sufre-otra-desconexion-total-tras-una-salida-imprevista-de-la-termoelectrica-guiteras\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">September 10, 2025<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">: For the third time, a breakdown at the Guiteras substation led to a general blackout in Cuba, the fifth in just under a year. Twelve hours later, most of the country was still in the dark, although 500 MW was being generated, a figure that rose to 1,000 MW <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CanalCaribeCuba\/posts\/pfbid02Qjg9LcHzj1LvzN9EsUNSn3BxiRbzHvEF3c8wiQon73MmpNxrup8Eip5gaUpHyB2ml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">at 6:00 a.m. this Thursday<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. Shortly after, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UnionElectricaOficinaCentral\/posts\/pfbid02JNSHWdB5k7SJDfL6ibx5khrnTNSmN5MbeejSmbXFH3jugGL6fyapATQnnS15axDpl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">almost the entire country was reconnected<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, although some territories still remained unconnected.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Recovery and future outages?<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The recovery strategy followed now is the same as in previous outages. It is based on building microsystems in the different provinces, primarily using diesel and fuel oil generation, and also using Energ\u00e1s plants.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Then, the provinces are connected regionally as their systems are strengthened and the available thermoelectric plants, which take longer to come online, can be energized. Finally, when the conditions are right, the full connection is carried out.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">This is arduous and progressive work, prioritizing key locations such as hospitals and water pumping plants. Furthermore, the process is not without setbacks and further power outages, such as the one that occurred this Wednesday in Havana, which forced a restart of recovery in the capital.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">However, the fact that the SEN is fully connected does not mean that all Cuban towns have electricity. Difficulties and local disconnections could still persist, and many people will remain in the dark due to the high deficit in generating capacity, which has been unable to meet demand throughout the day and night for months.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">This deficit marks \u2014 or, in fact, darkens \u2014 Cuba\u2019s electric power landscape, and its long-standing causes are a perennial sword of Damocles. As long as they cannot be resolved through sustained actions and the SEN maintains its current precarious condition, the efforts of electricity sector workers may not be enough.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The next outages could be a matter of time.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"gtx-trans\" style=\"position: absolute; left: 257px; top: 2019.45px;\">\n<div class=\"gtx-trans-icon\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This Wednesday\u2019s was the fifth total power outage in the island in just under a year, highlighting the current fragility of the electric power system and the worsening energy crisis. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3261,"featured_media":328324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13902],"tags":[23569,29161,19256],"ppma_author":[33550],"class_list":["post-328320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cuba","tag-blackouts-in-cuba","tag-energy-crisis-in-cuba","tag-featured"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The (inevitable?) outages of Cuba\u2019s power grid | OnCubaNews English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This Wednesday\u2019s was the fifth total power outage in the island in just under a year, highlighting the current fragility of the electric power system\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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