Cuba is confronting a critical electricity generation crisis characterized by severe power shortages affecting the entire nation. The situation stems primarily from an acute fuel shortage that has rendered over 1,000 megawatts of distributed generation capacity inoperable, creating substantial deficits across the electrical grid.
Engineer Lázaro Guerra Hernández, General Director of Electricity at Cuba’s Ministry of Energy and Mines (Minem), provided exclusive insights to Granma regarding the emergency. He confirmed that while the national electrical system has been technically restored following recent failures, generation capacity remains critically constrained due to fuel unavailability.
The crisis intensified with the simultaneous shutdown of Unit 1 at the Felton power plant and planned maintenance at Energas facilities. However, authorities implemented contingency measures by postponing the complete shutdown of gas plants, maintaining approximately 320-330 MW of generation from Energas engines. This decision also secured continued gas supply for domestic use in Havana.
Félix Estrada Rodríguez, Director of the National Load Dispatch Center, reported that Unit 6 at Mariel and Machine 1 at Santa Cruz had been successfully synchronized, bringing available generation to between 1,200-1,300 MW. Nevertheless, officials acknowledge that complex conditions and service disruptions will persist throughout the day.
The Felton unit is expected to remain offline for approximately 36 hours for repairs, with its return anticipated to contribute over 200 MW to the system. The recent national grid separation on Wednesday morning was attributed to a failure in the interconnection between the Ernesto Guevara thermoelectric plant in Santa Cruz and the Antonio Guiteras facility in Matanzas, creating an uncontrollable power imbalance in the region.