Cuban authorities established “savings” measures in the face of what they describe as a “critical energy situation”. The guidelines predict an increase in blackouts that have hit the population this time because of the generation deficit.
The portal My name is Villa Clara, and the Perlavisión state telecenter in Cienfuegos published a long list of actions apparently aimed at stopping the lack of fuel.
According to the government of Villa Clara, these are steps to “reduce the consumption of electrical energy and make reasonable use of energy carriers, but the Cienfuegos Energy Council recognizes the “critical energy situation”.
In both provinces, the total or partial paralysis of non-basic services and productions at certain times; a ban on the use of climate systems (air conditioners), except those supporting technological systems; adjusting work hours to shift them from peak times; and applying for remote work or teleworking
In continuous production services, “planned accommodation load plans” shall apply; water pumping to supply water to the population will be reorganized to avoid its operation during peak night hours, and refrigerators, refrigeration equipment, and cold rooms will be disconnected during peak hours when storing products inside is not dangerous.
Other “savings” measures are aimed at reducing the use of lighting, especially in industrial and security shopping centers. Regarding public lighting, the order is to maintain what is “necessary for road and pedestrian safety.”
The authorities ask the residential sector to use the equipment reasonably and efficiently and to continue with the conservation measures.
on fuel availabilityThe authorities of each territory have the order to “prioritize important activities such as health services, obituaries, electric guards, solid waste collection, etc.”
On Monday, the address of the thermoelectric plant (CTE), Antonio Guiteras, from Matanzas, announced its start in a message on Facebook where he specified that he hopes to achieve “better stability of the parameters” of the operation.
Several Cubans are fed up with the energy situation in Cuba They sarcastically ask themselves when the next breakdown is predicted: “more, less, when will it break again?” writes Erni Darias.
With unit three of CTE Santa Cruz and unit 2 of CTE Felton out of service and unit six of Energás de Boca de Jaruco and unit five of CTE Renté under maintenance, on Monday there was an estimated impact of 500 MW because of the generation deficit.
Between 2018 and 2022, Cuba’s electricity production will decrease by almost a quarter, or about 25%, according to data from the state National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI), which, in the opinion of Cuban economist Pedro Monreal, is fighting the boasted economic recovery that the regime wants to sell.
Although Havana leases eight generation plants from Turkey, of which there are six more on the island, which allows more available electricity, the problems caused a serious crisis of blackouts in the second, which halved in 2022 and led to an increase in the broad social protests, they continue.
The expert Jorge Piñón, researcher at the Energy Institute of the University of Texas and one of the greatest experts on the subject, told DIARIO DE CUBA about the subject: “The value chain of the national electricity system needs a general and comprehensive recapitalization. Short-term solutions will not solve the problem. Unfortunately, Cuba lacks what it needs most to alleviate this dire problem: money and time. “
