Power Restored in Pinar del Río After National Grid Disconnection

The province of Pinar del Río experienced a total disconnection from the National Electric System (SEN) this Tuesday around noon. This was due to a fault in the 220 kV Pinar–Mariel line, which cut off the entire province's power supply at 1:21 PM.

Approximately 46 minutes later, at 2:07 PM, the state-run Unión Eléctrica (UNE) announced the restoration of power via a brief post on their social media channels: "Electric service restored in Pinar del Río province."

The specific technical issue that caused the line’s protection systems to activate was not detailed by the state company. In electrical terms, a "fault" refers to the automatic shutdown of a high-voltage line when protection mechanisms detect anomalies such as voltage fluctuations, frequency imbalances, or short circuits.

Challenges for Cuba’s National Electric System

This incident occurred during a particularly challenging period for the SEN in October. Just an hour and a half before the blackout in Pinar del Río, the Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Plant—the largest power station in the country, located in Matanzas—was again offline due to low vacuum in the condenser, marking its third outage in October.

UNE’s report from Tuesday morning indicated only 850 MW available against a demand of 2,250 MW, with 1,340 MW affected. The company anticipated a generation shortfall of 1,960 MW for the day, with a peak impact of 1,990 MW, translating to operating at less than 38% of the demand.

Recurring Electrical Outages

This incident in Pinar del Río marks the fourth provincial disconnection due to a fault in 220 kV lines in under three weeks. On October 10th, a failure in the Nuevitas–Las Tunas line left five eastern provinces without power for two hours and 31 minutes, affecting around 3.4 million people.

Last Saturday, the provinces of Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo were cut off following a fault in the Cueto–Renté line. On Monday, Granma found itself completely dark due to a similar failure in its 220 kV supply line, with the provincial Electric Company unable to specify the causes.

This series of interconnected failures highlights the structural vulnerability of Cuba's transmission network. These high-voltage lines serve as the sole electrical link between provinces and the national system. When one of these lines goes down, the province is left completely isolated electrically until the connection is restored.

Throughout 2026, the SEN has faced at least eight total disconnections. The longest occurred on March 16th, lasting 29 hours and 29 minutes, and left the entire island without electricity for over a day.