HAVANA, Dec 4 (NNN-EFE) — The Cuban Electric Union (UNE, in Spanish) reported steady progress on Wednesday afternoon in restoring power across western provinces following a partial failure in the National Electric System (SEN, in Spanish) around 5 am (local time).
By 4 pm, officials confirmed that 50.5% of Havana’s electrical service had been reestablished.
According to UNE data, a total of 24 substations and 144 distribution circuits were back online, restoring service to 435,625 customers in the Cuban capital. Essential infrastructure has also been prioritized, with 43 key health facilities—including hospitals—and 13 major water supply systems already functioning.
Lazaro Guerra Hernandez, General Director of Electricity at the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MINEM, in Spanish), stated that although the national grid remains interconnected and all provinces are linked, the country continues to face a significant generation deficit of 1,400 megawatts as peak demand approaches.
According to the official, the generating unit at the Felton thermoelectric plant (CTE, in Spanish) in the eastern province of Holguin went out of service, a situation expected to last between 24 and 36 hours.
He added that unit 6 of the Mariel CTE, in the western province of Artemisa, and the steam turbine of Energas’s combined-cycle plant in Matanzas were in the startup process, which means that “the situation will gradually improve.”.
“All four affected provinces are already energized” and in progressive recovery, the engineer stated. He added that in Havana the substations already have electricity, and several in the provinces of Pinar del Río and Artemisa are also receiving it, “but there is not enough generation capacity to cover total demand.” — NNN-EFE