Cuba will experience prolonged blackouts across the country this Tuesday (10), cuts that will simultaneously leave more than 64% of the island without energy at the time of greatest demand, a record rate according to data from the state-owned Electrical Union (UNE) compiled by EFE Agency.
Cuba has been going through a deep energy crisis since mid-2024, but the so-called oil siege imposed by the US government with its intervention in Venezuela and the presidential order of January 29 is leading to record blackouts.
The previous record had been recorded on January 31, with 63%, according to official figures that UNE began to release regularly in 2022, when the country’s energy situation began to worsen.
UNE, linked to the Cuban Ministry of Energy and Mines, predicts for the peak demand time of this day, in the late afternoon and early evening, a generation capacity of 1,134 megawatts (MW) and a maximum demand of 3,100 MW.
Currently, six of the 16 operational thermoelectric production units are out of service due to breakdowns or maintenance, including two of the three largest. This energy source represents, on average, around 40% of the energy matrix in Cuba.
The so-called distributed generation (engines) was responsible for another 40% of the matrix. Cuban dictator Miguel Díaz-Canel last week blamed the US for the fact that the energy source has been completely stopped for four weeks.
The Cuban regime also imposed a very harsh package of emergency measures last week to try to survive without oil from abroad, since the island produces only a third of its energy needs.
The retail sale of diesel has been interrupted, gasoline is heavily rationed, there is no kerosene for planes at the country’s airports, state offices have readjusted their opening hours, remote work is prioritized and public services have been cut to only meet the essentials.
Various independent calculations estimate that between US$8 billion and US$10 billion would be needed to clean up the island’s electrical system.
The Cuban regime points to the impact of American sanctions on this industry as the main factor in the crisis and accuses Washington of “energy asphyxiation”.
Prolonged daily blackouts are damaging the economy, which has contracted by more than 15% since 2020, according to official figures. Furthermore, they were the trigger for the main protests in recent years.
