Granma newspaper added in its Monday edition that the fuel shortage represents the main problem caused by the brutal economic, commercial and financial siege imposed by the U.S. blockade, and therefore has a relevant impact on the National Electric System (SEN).

This is a situation that the island suffers on a daily basis in the energy sector, the newspaper insisted.

The falls of the SEN, after last Friday’s total collapse, are due to the weakening of this system, the Cuban Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, expressed in an interview to the national and foreign media.

He explained that, in previous days, there had already been blackouts for many hours, affecting more than one thousand megawatts (MW),whose main reason was the lack of fuel for generation.

Due to this cause, some 900 megawatts (MW) could not be produced by mobile and distributed generation. Electricity is mostly delivered in Cuba from thermoelectric plants and Energás plants.

Regarding the first total failure of the system, De la O Levy said that it was caused by a breakdown in the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric power plant, but any plant could have gone out and the same thing would have happened.

The Minister of Energy and Mines stated that the technical situation of the thermoelectric and distributed generation plants continues to be tense, due to the years of operation and the inability to buy spare parts. The youngest units have been in operation for more than 35 years, and are maintained thanks to the efforts of the workers, concluded the message.

jrr/ga/rfc