The Ministry of Energy and Mines of Cuba confirmed that the national electrical system collapsed this Friday for the fourth time in the last six months. The incident occurred at 8:15 PM local time due to a malfunction in a substation that caused a significant loss of generation in the western region of the country, resulting in the total failure of the electrical system.
Thermal power plants in Cuba have become obsolete after decades of operation. The energy crisis in the country worsened late last year with interruptions in the electrical supply in more than half of the Cuban territory and the occurrence of three national blackouts lasting several consecutive days in the last quarter.
One of the main causes of the prolonged power outages is the constant malfunctions in the old thermal power plants and the shortage of fuel, due to the foreign exchange deficit to import it, given that the Cuban state maintains control over the electrical sector.
Independent experts have pointed out that the energy crisis in Cuba is due to a chronic lack of funding in the sector, which has been under state control since 1959. In some regions of the country, daily power cuts exceed 20 hours daily in recent weeks, affecting the population and the economy.
The Cuban electrical system has experienced high levels of deficit and frequent outages in recent months. Last February, the largest deficit was recorded in at least two years, with 57% of the country without electricity at the same time. The situation is exacerbated by the lack of fuel on the island, necessary for the operation of the system as a whole.
