The state company Unión Eléctrica (UNE) of Cuba announced on Tuesday that it has managed to reconnect the entire country to the National Electric System (SEN), four days after the total blackout that the island suffered last Friday.
In Havana, the reconnection has reached almost 100%, while in Santiago de Cuba (east), Matanzas (west) and Cienfuegos (central) it ranges between 40% and 60%. The general director of Electricity from the Ministry of Energy and Mines (Minem), Lázaro Guerra, warned on Cuban state television that the recovery of the connection does not guarantee a stable electric flow and the overcoming of blackouts, due to insufficient generation capacity.
"At 2:44 local time (18:44 GMT), the National Electroenergetic System was synchronized," UNE reported on social media. Hours earlier, it was reported that more than 95% of customers in the western area had their electric connection restored, while in the rest of the country it barely reached half of the users.
Guerra pointed out that there will not be sufficient generation capacity to cover the demand and will have to manage the loads. UNE announced that due to the generation deficit, the service will be affected "in an emergency" in several circuits in Havana.
Last Friday, a failure in the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant in Matanzas caused the massive blackout. The recovery process was gradual and faced setbacks. Before the blackout, maximum rates of disruption exceeding 50% were recorded.
Frequent blackouts affect the Cuban economy and generate social discontent in a context of economic crisis.
