It took just eighteen words for pro-government journalist José Miguel Solís to describe the dire situation that residents of Matanzas experienced on Friday night when the entire city's electrical circuits went dark. "Matanzas reached 140 MW... All of its switchable circuits... At 12:02 it decreases to 114 MW," Solís briefly stated on his social media, accompanied by a screenshot from the Matanzas Electric Company and a photograph of the city shrouded in darkness.
The state company's announcement revealed that a "capacity deficit" was responsible for the 140 MW outage, representing the maximum switchable power in the province. "As soon as the system conditions allow, the circuits with the longest outage times will be gradually restored," added the Matanzas Electric Company.
The day before, the Cuban Electric Union (UNE) had warned of significant blackouts due to a generation capacity deficit, predicting impacts of 1,200 MW. In its report on Saturday, the company admitted that its projections, as usual, fell short of reality.
State-run company, led by Alfredo López Valdés, also reported new issues on Saturday. Besides the usual disruptions in distributed generation caused by fuel shortages, Friday brought another grim update: fuel shortages were also affecting three floating power plants, known as "Turkish barges."
"Fuel supply problems" have left the Turkish barges anchored in Mariel and Santiago de Cuba Bay dry, while the one in Havana Bay is operating at minimum capacity for the same reason. This isn't the first time that Turkey's floating power plants have run out of fuel for power generation in Cuba. Back in April, UNE reported fuel supply issues for the barges in Moa, Holguín, and Santiago de Cuba.
Despite restricted comments, Solís' Facebook page revealed the mood among Matanzas residents after a bleak day likely to repeat on Saturday. "The 200-something MW from Guiteras are gifted to the wonderful Havana," lamented one resident, outraged by the severe blackouts in Matanzas compared to the selective outages in the Cuban capital.
"Circuit 4 has been down since before noon and still no power. There are no words to describe the helplessness and contempt I feel towards those responsible for ensuring a dignified life. What a pain; such a beautiful island and so messed up!" exclaimed another Cuban netizen.
"I'm waiting for your meme about the minister who said things would improve with the arrival of fuel... and things got worse. A cyclone that doesn't hit Cuba passes by, and Matanzas shows solidarity by entering a blackout. And the journalism? Nothing, as always: eat and stay silent," criticized a user in the comments directed at Solís.