Cuba suffered one other large blackout on Wednesday, Dec. 4—the newest in a sequence of devastating grid disruptions which have plagued the island lately. Whereas authorities reported swift restoration—accomplished simply after midnight on Dec. 5—the occasion has additional underscored the rising pressure on the nation’s fragile vitality system.
Since 2020, Cuba has endured greater than 20 main blackouts, with at the least six nationwide outages reported in 2024 alone, together with back-to-back grid collapses in October alongside a crippling disruption brought on by Hurricane Rafael in November. The widespread outages, pushed by gasoline provide disruptions, ageing infrastructure, and U.S. sanctions, have change into emblematic of Cuba’s broader struggles to modernize its vitality system and meet the calls for of its inhabitants.
The most recent debacle started within the early hours of Wednesday, Dec. 4, at 2:08 a.m., when the 330-MW Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant in Matanzas province disconnected from the nationwide electrical system as a result of a failure in its automated system. What adopted was a swift but complicated restoration effort. Under is a chronicle of the occasion’s vital restoration operations.
Timeline of Restoration Operations
2:08 a.m. – System failure reported
The Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant disconnects from the nationwide grid as a result of an computerized closure of its gasoline cut-off valve. The sudden shutdown destabilizes the system, prompting technicians to start investigating the trigger. The Ministry of Vitality and Mines experiences that restoration work will start instantly.
7:32 a.m. – Micro-generation programs activated
The Electrical Firm of Havana restores service to 2 33kV circuits, 15 13kV circuits, and 4 hospital circuits within the western capital. Minister of Vitality and Mines Vicente de la O Levy, in an X (previously Twitter) submit, suggests “circumstances are extra favorable than within the final disconnection” in October, on condition that “compliance with the procedures [are] not affected by the hurricane.” The submit provides: “Islands are already functioning, and the system is step by step being restored.”
8:06 a.m. – Very important circuits prioritized
Levy emphasizes throughout a press convention that hospitals and water pumping stations are prioritized. “At this second, there’s an island fashioned within the fuel crops to ensure the provision to the capital Havana,” he says. “In the remainder of the nation, a sign was given to start out up the islands to offer vitality to the water pumping circuits.”
8:18 a.m. – No harm to producing models
Levy confirms the shutdown occurred as a result of a failure within the automated system, particularly by issues in an automated card within the management board, which possible in flip closed a shut-off valve that provides gasoline to the boiler. He stresses, “There was no harm to the nation’s thermal producing models that have been on-line in the intervening time of the failure.”
8:20 a.m. – Restoration progresses sooner
Levy notes this restoration effort faces fewer challenges than earlier outages brought on by hurricanes. “This morning we put Energás unit on-line, after which we have been already reaching San Agustín [about 40 km west of Havana] and energizing all of the substations alongside the way in which. The restoration goes comparatively sooner.”
8:29 a.m. – 9 hospitals in Havana regain energy
The Electrical Firm of Havana restores service to 9 hospitals and 21 circuits.
9:04 a.m. – Distributed era islands operational
Distributed era islands are activated nationwide, prioritizing vitality for water pumping. A number of models are prepared to start out up, and officers anticipate a major restoration of the Nationwide Electrical System (SEN) by the day’s finish.
9:11 a.m. – Moa engines activated in jap Cuba
Within the jap province of Holguín, engines in Moa are began to provide vitality to the Felton and Renté thermoelectric crops. Unit 5 of Nuevitas in Camagüey Province additionally begins startup operations.
9:16 a.m. – Central regional microsystem strengthened
The Hanabanilla hydroelectric plant in central Cuba powers engines on the Cienfuegos refinery. Plans are underway to hyperlink this technique to Energás Varadero, stabilizing frequency and enabling energy restoration to the Guiteras plant by night.
9:18 a.m. – Very important facilities energized in Matanzas
The Electrical Firm of Matanzas restores energy to important services, together with the Faustino Pérez Hospital, the communications heart, and the tv antenna in La Cumbre.
9:19 a.m. – Service expands in Havana
Twelve hospitals and 35 circuits in Havana, together with Guanabacoa, Boyeros, and Marianao, regain electrical energy.
9:25 a.m. – Villa Clara restores microsystem
In Santa Clara, Villa Clara province, central Cuba, a microsystem powered by diesel engines restores electrical energy to circuits 13 and 40, although technical challenges on the Hanabanilla hydroelectric plant delay additional restoration.
9:38 a.m. – Restricted restoration in Guantánamo
Within the southeastern province of Guantánamo, electrical energy is restored to key services, together with the youngsters’s hospital, basic hospital, and Baracoa Hospital.
10:30 a.m. – 220 MW restored nationwide
Adjunct Director of Unión Eléctrica Omar Ramírez Mendoza experiences that 220 MW of energy is now out there throughout Havana, Matanzas, and the jap provinces.
10:37 a.m. – Investigation into Guiteras failure ongoing
Rubén Campos Olmo, director of the Guiteras plant, confirms the shutdown was brought on by the sudden closure of the gasoline valve. “No operations have been being carried out on the time, and the block was secure earlier than the failure.”
10:40 a.m. – Matanzas micro-islands operational
Micro-islands in Matanzas, western Cuba, energize the Faustino Pérez Hospital, the town heart, and the tv tower.
11:50 a.m. – Felton Unit 1 prepped for startup
Felton Unit 1 in Holguín, jap Cuba, is able to begin however requires 15 MW of exterior energy to stabilize operations.
1:00 p.m. – 428 MW restored nationwide
Ramírez Mendoza experiences progress, with Santa Cruz Unit 3 in Mayabeque Province and thermal energy barges in Havana contributing to restoration efforts.
4:00 p.m. – Guiteras startup course of begins
Stabilized subsystems in Havana and Cienfuegos allow the Antonio Guiteras plant in Matanzas to start startup.
7:30 p.m. – 845 MW restored nationwide
Nuevitas Unit 5 and Mariel Unit 6 bolster restoration efforts, extending the grid from Artemisa within the west to Las Tunas within the east.
11:34 p.m. – Nationwide electrical system restored
Minister Vicente de la O Levy publicizes through X (previously Twitter) that the nationwide electrical system has been largely restored. Felton Unit 1 is anticipated to synchronize inside hours.
12:30 a.m. (Dec. 5)—All models synchronized
The ministry confirms that the nationwide grid has been totally restored, together with Felton Unit 1.
#Cuba
Restablecido el SEN 🇨🇺
Todas las unidades que estaban en proceso de arranque ya estan sincronizadas, incluida unidad 1 de Felton. https://t.co/hShwQKShs7— Ministerio de Energía y Minas de Cuba 🇨🇺 (@EnergiaMinasCub) December 5, 2024
—Amaury Pérez Sánchez ([email protected]) is a chemical engineer primarily based in Cuba with the College of Camagüey.
