Residents of La Posita, in the Altamira neighborhood of Santiago de Cuba, reported that they have been without electricity for over three days, enduring unbearable heat and receiving no effective response from the Electric Company.
“I am desperate. I have a baby who is only four months old and there is constant crying because of the heat. I can’t sleep, I can’t live like this. The food has gone bad and no one is providing a solution,” said a mother from the area to journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada.
According to the independent journalist, residents have repeatedly called the company, but the only response they receive is that “the report has already been submitted to the office” and that they must continue to wait, with the problem still unresolved up to this point.
“The situation once again reflects the neglect experienced by numerous neighborhoods in Santiago, where power outages are no longer just an inconvenience, but a humanitarian crisis that particularly affects families with small children, the elderly, and vulnerable individuals,” added Mayeta Labrada.
“The neighbors demand an immediate response, as spending more than 72 hours without electricity under these conditions becomes an unbearable punishment for the community,” he concluded.
From Santiago de Cuba, electrical authorities describe a crisis marked by outages and maintenance, with rotation across four blocks and reduced service for 3 to 6 hours depending on available load, in addition to warnings about decreased photovoltaic support if weather conditions worsen.
The alert was issued in the context of a prior day with 24-hour disruptions in the country and a forecast of high deficits for peak hours.
According to the Informative Note from the SEN on Saturday, January 31, 2026, the day before, the maximum impact due to generation capacity deficit was 1916 MW at 18:20.
By the morning of the 31st, the availability at 06:00 was 1160 MW against a demand of 1995 MW, with 830 MW affected, and by noon, an impact of 1150 MW was estimated.
The report lists the main incidents as breakdowns in several thermal power units: Unit 5 of the Mariel Power Plant, Unit 5 of Nuevitas, Unit 2 of the Felton Power Plant, and Units 3 and 6 of the Antonio Maceo Power Plant.
In addition, maintenance is being reported at Unit 3 of the Santa Cruz Power Plant, Unit 4 of the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Power Plant (Cienfuegos), and the Antonio Guiteras Power Plant.
There are constraints in thermal generation: 366 MW out of service.
Moreover, it was reported that on the morning of the 31st, Unit 2 of the CTE Ernesto Guevara de la Serna was offline due to a turbine regulation system failure.
The report estimates a peak demand of 3040 MW and an availability of 1160 MW, which would result in a deficit of 1880 MW; if these conditions persist, aimpact of 1910 MW during that time is predicted.