Blackouts continue to hit Cuba hard. For Friday, April 4, 2025, the Electric Union (UNE) estimates a nighttime impact of 1680 MW due to the shutdown of six thermal generation units, of which five are under maintenance and one is out of service. The main cause of the collapse remains the lack of diesel fuel in distributed generation.
Current state of the National Electric System (SEN)
According to the "note" UNE report, yesterday the impacts lasted for 24 hours, with a peak of 1619 MW at 8:00 PM, exceeding the planned levels due to higher-than-forecasted demand. At 7:00 AM today, the availability of the SEN was 1840 MW, while the demand reached 2750 MW, causing a deficit of 1002 MW. It is expected that by noon, the impact will rise to 1100 MW.
The situation is even more critical for peak hours, when UNE forecasts an availability of 1840 MW compared to a demand of 3450 MW, which will result in an impact of 1680 MW. To understand it better, the percentage of Cuba that would be without electricity during peak hours would be approximately 48.7%. That is, almost half of the country would experience blackouts at that time.
Cubans question the efficiency of solar parks
Despite the energy crisis, UNE reported that the eight new photovoltaic solar parks produced 934 MWh of energy yesterday. However, users on social media expressed their dissatisfaction with the destination of this production and its apparent inefficiency in alleviating daytime impacts.
Well, there's no other choice, used to the disaster. They used to say Céspedes would open in early April and June, and now it's at the end and in August. The panel parks for pleasure, the midday peaks are still the same or worse," commented Y. Pérez on social media. From Pinar del Río, user Y. Martínez expressed her frustration: "Here In Pinar, 17 hours without power since yesterday. If those are today's progress... terrible.
Other users, like R. Rojas, wonder what happens to the electricity generated: "According to official information, the solar parks produced over 900 MW during the day yesterday. However, the deficit during the day was the same. What do they do with the electricity generated by those solar fields? Is it all for Torre K or for the hotels in Varadero?" Similarly, Y. Licea joked: "You can confidently collect the solar panels. Every day is worse!"
Let's remember that the authorities in Cuba insist on the importance of photovoltaic parks in diversifying the energy matrix, but the reality is that their impact on reducing blackouts is still to be seen.
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Another thing, there is someone who works for an electric company that is destroying the electrical equipment. There is a shift among them where they turn on the current, then turn it off, and then turn it back on. They do this 5 or 6 times in a row. What are they going to do?
I live in Sandino in Pinar del Río. What happens? We have no rights, even if we only have ten hours of electricity per week. Families with children and sick elderly cannot protect their food.
Well, honestly, these solar panels could have been made since other presidents were in office when the country was in a different situation. But well, one came along who at least tries to do something for the country. The creation of these panels is slow, yes, but at least work is being done right now when it could have started a long time ago. Why in Cuba, thank God, the most abundant resource is sun. I am waiting until the end of the year to be able to give negative comments as well. I also cook with wood and charcoal, but I still support the president who has made mistakes. Yes, he is human like all of us, but we also have to recognize what he inherited from...
Previous people to him were a hot potato or a ticking time bomb and they still remain there almost without sleeping because tell us, let's focus a little on the television, you can see how President Díaz Canel is doing. I support him and I know it's slow but we will get through.
The reality of Cuba is an eternal DARKNESS, both during the day and with greater depth, the dense darkness that terrifies this country can be seen.
I can't understand what analysis they are doing to say that with 1680 MW of impact half the country is left in the dark. When you subtract from the 1840 MW of availability the consumption of all the medium-empty tourist poles in the country (which logically cannot be affected), the hospitals across the nation (also logically), with the hundreds of thousands of homes benefited by being connected to the hospital circuits that no one sees (and there's no need to see since those who are not benefited assume that load instead of making hospitals independent), and some other "non-shutdownable" circuits, I ask, how much remains? 500?, 600 MW?, that is the true percentage of impact, close to 80-85% of the country in the dark.
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