Amid growing public discontent over extensive power outages, executives from the Electric Company of Cienfuegos explained in the television program 'Con Energía' the technical reasons that prevent the rotation of circuits in the province, which has resulted in blackouts of up to 25 consecutive hours.
During the broadcast, engineer Amaury Ojeda Fernández, the technical director of the company, stated that "circuits cannot be rotated" because the territory does not have the sufficient energy capacity to implement a schedule that would allow for alternating blackouts.
In many instances, the executive pointed out to Perlavisión, only between 3 and 4 megawatts are available for service, meaning that only two or three circuits can be active at the same time.
This phenomenon is due, he explained, to the increase in the so-called "curtailable" capacity of the province—the load that can be disconnected—which rose from 61 to 71 megawatts with the change of season.
However, in recent days, the cut demand exceeded 73 megawatts, forcing the disconnection of even circuits considered "non-disconnectable," such as those supplying strategic economic services and hospitals.
"We do not have a reservation for rotation. That's why the outages have extended to more than 20 or 25 hours without electricity," indicated Ojeda Fernández, who also acknowledged that the system lacks precise planning capacity, which is why providing a reliable schedule would be, in his words, "deceiving the population."
Despite the fact that the Electric Company claims it has not changed the status of the protected circuits, such as 92 and 20, they admitted that they have temporarily shut them down “with the approval of Public Health” in order to meet the demand. This measure has raised questions and concerns among the residents of Cienfuegos, who wonder why some circuits seem to be receiving preferential treatment.
The authorities also denied that there are conditions to sanction electricity wastage in the protected circuits, although they acknowledged the existence of isolated cases of fraud and illegal installations to evade blackouts. They stated that oversight is limited to verifying compliance with electricity contracts and detecting clandestine connections.
While the population demands solutions and the synchronization of unit three of the "Carlos Manuel de Céspedes" thermoelectric plant emerges as a near hope - expected in the first half of April, with a nominal power of 158 MW - the province continues to face an energy crisis that, according to authorities, is difficult to remedy in the short term.
Citizen Discontent and Territorial Inequality
Beyond the technical limitations, the extended blackouts have caused increasing discontent among the population, who are not only complaining about the duration of the outages but also about the inequality in their implementation across provinces and municipalities.
Testimonials like that of a Cuban mother who spent 24 hours without electricity with her sick son have shocked social media and independent outlets.
While territories like Havana announce power outages of just four hours, provinces such as Cienfuegos, Holguín, and Sancti Spíritus report interruptions of over 20 hours, which has sparked public outrage and calls for fairness in load distribution.
In 2022, the authorities in Havana announced the so-called "solidarity blackouts", a symbolic measure aimed at sharing the energy sacrifice of the provinces. However, the initiative was heavily criticized for its limited effectiveness and for being perceived as a cosmetic gesture that did not change the structure of energy privileges in the capital.
Despite popular discontent, the Cuban government has tried to distance itself from responsibility. The Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, stated that planning power outages at a national level is “extremely complex”, placing the political burden of the crisis on local authorities.
The recent intervention of the Communist Party in the cargo dispatch has also been interpreted as an attempt to control the narrative in light of the growing social discontent.
Claims of energy inequality have gained momentum on social media, where users from the provinces have expressed their frustration over the apparent stability of services in select areas of the capital. In contrast, rural and peripheral circuits are experiencing power outages that exceed 28 hours.
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