More than half of Cuba could be without electricity tonight.

The power outage expected for May 6 is expected to reach critical levels, exceeding 50% of national demand.

The deficit soars during peak hours

The Cuban electrical system is experiencing one of its worst days so far in May. According to the official report from the Electric Union (UNE), the estimated impact for Tuesday's peak hours could reach 1575 megawatts (MW). This represents more than 46% of national demand, although if the behavior of previous days is repeated, the real impact could be close to 56%.

The forecast demand for the night is 3380 MW, but availability will barely reach 1875 MW, which would cause a deficit of 1505 MW. Added to this is the possibility that the impact will exceed the forecast, as happened yesterday, when the 1730 MW affected at 21:50 p.m., which did not coincide with the peak consumption.

Another day with 24-hour blackouts

Throughout Sunday and the early hours of the morninguneThe power outage was maintained uninterrupted. The exit unforeseen The failure of Unit 3 of the Cienfuegos Thermoelectric Plant (CTE) was key to the increased deficit. This failure added to an already deteriorated and overloaded generating fleet.

At noon on May 6, the forecast was also negative: 1380 MW affected, with an availability of 1695 MW in the face of a demand for 2800 MW.

La UNE He explained that the 9 photovoltaic solar parks in operation generated 1040 megawatt hours (MWh) on the previous day. However, this figure represents only a fraction of the country's total consumption, and its contribution is limited outside of daylight hours.

A week of electrical collapse

Last week had already shown alarming signs. Between May 1 and 5, peak traffic impacts ranged from 1200 and 1450 MW, but the data from the past lunes surpassed previous records.

Analyzing the relationship between supply and demand for this May 6, the impact of 1575 MW projected is equivalent to 46,57% of national demand. However, if the behavior follows the pattern of lunes, when the blackout was 1730 MW without coinciding with the peak, it is likely that More than 56% of the country will be without electricity tonight, at the worst time of day.

Criticism grows over lack of solutions

On social media, many users expressed their frustration with the situation, which has become unsustainable. Some report that the blackouts are lasting more than 12 hours, with outages during the early morning, midday, and evening hours.

“There's no rest here. Today it left at 2:00 a.m., returned at 6:00 a.m., and left again at 10:00 a.m. We've been without power for hours,” wrote one user from Ciego de Ávila.

"I can't understand how things could get so bad in such a short time. And they say it's normal," lamented another person from Holguín.

With temperatures rising and the electrical infrastructure at its limit, the situation is becoming increasingly critical. Authorities have not announced a clear maintenance schedule or new additions to the energy system, so Massive blackouts could continue throughout the week.