Hurricane Rafael causes collapse of the electrical system in Cuba

( Spanish) – The strong winds caused by the passage of Hurricane Rafael in Cuba this Wednesday caused the collapse of the national electrical system, reported the island’s Electrical Union.

Félix Estrada Rodríguez, director of the national load dispatch of the Cuban Electrical Union, explained in an interview broadcast by state television channel Caribe that the island’s electrical system collapsed a couple of hours before the tropical cyclone made landfall.

“The electrical system collapsed at 2:48 in the afternoon today, mainly due to the inclemency of the high speed of the winds from the western area. The circuits were being serviced when the wind speed exceeded 50 kilometers per hour (…) we had several trips from the system load in the western area that caused oscillations in the frequency of the system and caused it to completely collapse,” Estrada Rodríguez said.

The official added that they will wait until the effects of the cyclone end in the western part of the island to begin reestablishing service.

This Wednesday, Rafael made landfall in Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane shortly after 4 pm local time, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Since October, the electrical system in Cuba has suffered from failures, the most serious recorded due to the damage to infrastructure caused by the passage of Storm Oscar the last week of the month.