Hours after suffering the largest electricity outage so far this year, which left half of Cuba without electricity, the authorities suspended classes this Friday and announced cuts to high-consumption activities, as well as the study of an eventual increase of the rates.
In a statement, the state Electrical Union (UNE), which controls the national energy system, reported that the deficit on Thursday night – peak hour – reached 1,642 megawatts on a demand of 3,300 megawatts.
Thursday’s blackout was the worst in a series of power shortages that exceeded 40% of national demand and that have been occurring since September.
The tense scene caused a special appearance by the Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz. “The situation has been getting worse in recent days,” Marrero acknowledged before national television cameras.
“It must be said with all transparency… (that) we have been paralyzing economic activities to be able to guarantee energy to the population.”
Gasoline fails, plants break down
During the appearance Marrero was accompanied by the director of the UNE, Alfredo López, who explained the difficulties of electricity generation, from the breakdowns in the old thermoelectric plants that are out of maintenance, to the lack of fuel to start some generators. and the increase in demand in the residential sector.
The lack of repair and fuel shortage are related to the economic crisis that Cuba has gone through in the last four years and which led to a drop in the Gross Domestic Product of 2% in 2023.
Marrero and López indicated that measures are being taken to control the energy deficit, such as the closure of work centers – the State is the largest employer on the island -, the activation of groups of officials in the municipalities to control consumption and the promotion of telecommuting.
Changes are also being studied in the electricity rates paid by small and medium-sized businesses, which began to be authorized in 2021 and grew rapidly.
Regarding classes, the Ministry of Education said that they will be suspended until Monday due to the storms that have hit the island since Thursday, but the UNE and journalists from official media acknowledged that it was due to the “electro-energy emergency.”
Among other measures also indicated by the UNE, are the suspension of non-vital services that generate energy costs such as cultural activities and the closure of nightclubs and recreation centers where there is a high concentration of people.
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