Havana Cuba.- A fault caused the central-eastern zone of Cuba, almost half of the territory, to lose power, reported the Unión Eléctrica (UNE), almost five months after a general blackout.
“A failure in the 220 KV (kilovolt) network -between the cities of Sancti Spiritus and Nuevitas located in the center of the country- caused the total disconnection of the Electric System in the Central-Eastern zone, affecting the provinces from Ciego de Ávila to Guantanamo,” the state UNE said in a statement, without further details.
Subsequently, the Ministry of Energy and Mines indicated that the cause was a fire in a sugarcane field, of which no details were provided.
The affected area covers seven provinces (Ciego de Ávila, Camagüey, Las Tunas, Holguín, Granma, Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo) of the 15 that make up the country.
Cuba is going through a power generation crisis due to the poor conditions of the country’s eight thermoelectric plants, with constant breakdowns and recurring maintenance jobs.
On September 27, the island registered a blackout throughout the territory, after the passage of hurricane “Ian” through the western provinces.
In addition to the eight generators, the country has eight floating plants that it rents to Turkey and, to a lesser extent, solar and wind power units.
The lack of electricity caused unusual street protests in various neighborhoods of Havana and some provinces in the first days of October. But they had begun to affect since 2021, when they became one of the reasons for the historic marches on July 11 of that year.
The months of December and January were marked by relative stability and fluidity in the energy system.
In addition to the fact that to combat the heat -which affects the island almost all year round but is felt less in winter-, energy is usually used in most of the cities in Cuba for cooking food.
