On Thursday at 4:09 pm, Unit 2 of the Ernesto Guevara De La Serna Thermoelectric Power Plant, situated in Santa Cruz del Norte, Mayabeque, ceased operations due to a leak in the economizer, as reported by the Cuban Electrical Union.
This malfunction occurred merely ninety minutes after Unit 4 of the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes CTE in Cienfuegos exited the National Electric System (SEN) at 2:48 pm, following a failure in the generator's voltage regulator.
In less than two hours, two plants have been knocked offline. This pattern of cascading failures has become synonymous with the Cuban electricity crisis of 2026, repeating once more on a particularly challenging day for the grid.
The economizer is a vital component of the boiler systems in thermoelectric plants; a leak—essentially a small hole or crack—leads to water or steam escaping, necessitating the shutdown of the unit for repairs.
This is the same type of defect that has persistently plagued the Antonio Guiteras CTE, the country's main power plant, which clocked 293 hours of downtime in 2026 due to issues with this particular component.
The Ernesto Guevara CTE boasts an installed capacity of 295 MW and operates on domestic crude oil, resulting in an estimated daily savings of $400,000 for Cuba.
This plant has been riddled with failures throughout the year: on March 21, all three units broke down simultaneously; on April 8, Unit 1 went offline due to a turbine regulation system failure; and just on July 7, that same unit was restarted to help restore national electrical connection after the seventh total SEN blackout in 18 months.
The day's list of outages also includes units 5, 6, and 8 of the Máximo Gómez CTE in Mariel, unit 1 of the Antonio Guiteras CTE in Matanzas, unit 6 of the Diez de Octubre CTE in Nuevitas, and unit 2 of the Felton CTE in Holguín.
Underlying this chain of breakdowns are structural issues that the regime has neither been able nor willing to address: plants that have been operational for over four decades, a chronic lack of spare parts, and over three months without oil shipments, further constraining the nation's power generation capabilities.
Understanding Cuba's Energy Crisis
What caused the shutdown of Unit 2 at Ernesto Guevara CTE?
The shutdown was due to a leak in the economizer, a crucial part of the power plant's boiler system.
How does the failure of multiple power plants affect Cuba's energy grid?
The failure of multiple plants creates a cascading effect, leading to significant instability and outages in the national power grid.
What are the underlying issues behind Cuba's recurring power plant failures?
Structural issues such as outdated plants, lack of spare parts, and fuel shortages are major contributors to these failures.