Almost all of Cuba has remained without electrical service for the last 24 hours after a new collapse of the National Electrical System (SEN), the second in 20 days. According to authorities, the disconnection was due to the “strong winds caused by the highly intense Hurricane Rafael.”
The information released by the state Electrical Union (UNE) stated that “contingency protocols” were being applied in the face of the imminent arrival of the meteorological phenomenon. Shortly before, they had also announced that, when the hurricane winds reached 60 k/h “the controlled disconnection of the distribution circuits will be carried out in those affected areas (…) to avoid accidents and failures in the electrical networks.”
Hurricane Rafael made landfall in the west of the country, having a category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with maximum winds of 185 km/h. According to official information, the meteorological phenomenon affected more than four million Cubans and caused strong winds, rains and floods that affected homes, infrastructure and crops.
Although the hurricane has moved away from the country and is more than 280 km from the Cuban coast, the SEN remains offline.
Rafael is the second hurricane to hit Cuba so far this year. In mid-October and coinciding with the first energy collapse, Hurricane Óscar impacted the northeastern tip of the Island, leaving eight dead, two missing, damage to 12,000 homes and the loss of 13,000 hectares of crops.
For its part, the Ministry of Energy and Mines explained that, in addition to the technical complexity of restoring the SEN, they face the task of physically repairing cables and poles damaged by strong winds. «We are working on the creation of electrical subsystems in the center and east of Cuba. In the West this process will be slower, the necessary electrical lines and installations must be reviewed,” said the state entity, requesting “time” for recovery.
Constant cuts
This is the second collapse of the SEN in less than a month. Between October 18 and 22, a widespread blackout occurred due to thermoelectric breakdowns and lack of fuel. However, the electricity outages have not stopped on the island and the daily deficits have maintained maximum values of between 1,300 and 1,525 MW similar to the values recorded prior to the collapse, which is why experts were already announcing a new widespread blackout.
In Camajuaní, province of Villa Clara, at the time of the disconnection of the SEN, they had been without power for more than 30 hours. Cubans, mainly from the center and east of the country, have continued cooking with charcoal or firewood, obtaining daily food supplies because the scarce 2 or 4 hours of electricity a day are insufficient to freeze food.
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