ENERGY-CUBA: Promises of a Summer without Blackouts

By Patricia Grogg Reprint | | Print |

Patricia Grogg(Tierramérica*)

HAVANA, Jul 11 2001 (IPS) - Electricity usage will intensify in Cuba during the summer months of July and August, when temperatures remain above 30 degrees Celsius, but the authorities promise a vacation season without the blackouts that, until recently, plagued the lives of millions of people on this Caribbean island.

Cautious government officials insist, however, that “the most rational possible use” of electricity is still necessary during the Northern Hemisphere summer, coinciding with the vacation period here of the schools and universities, and of many workers.

The summer television schedule, which has more hours of programming, began July 2, implying that more Cubans are turning on their TVs and for longer periods. They are also using their air conditioning systems, refrigerators and electric fans more, thus consuming more electricity.

Nevertheless, energy sector officials have assured that, despite greater electrical consumption this summer, no “significant variations” are expected in the quality or stability of the National Electro-Energy System.

Roberto González, of the Ministry of Basic Industry, said that during this season the island’s energy plants generate more than 40 million kilowatt hours per day.

Summertime energy consumption requires a hike in petroleum imports, and prices have remained above 25 dollars a barrel, González pointed out. Last year, Cuba spent 500 million additional dollars on extra oil imports.

Electrical outages, which in the early 1990s would last as long as 10 hours daily, were one of the worst consequences of the economic crisis that erupted following the collapse of the Soviet Union – Cuba’s principal trade partner – in 1991.

Until 1989, the last year of relative economic normalcy, the Soviet Union provided Cuba all the petroleum it needed, which that year was 13 million tons of crude.

The subsequent shortage of oil, the socialist-run island’s main source of electrical energy, forced the government to impose a strict rationing plan, with blackouts of four or more hours each day, in a plan that just ended late last year.

The gradual process of economic recovery begun in the late 1990s boosted consumption in 1998 to 10,608 gigawatt hours (one gigawatt = a billion watts). The average monthly consumption per household that year was 117.7 kilowatt hours.

Even with government assurances, periodic blackouts are a reminder of tougher economic times, though officials attribute today’s interruptions to “ruptures or unexpected breakdowns in electricity-generating units,” not to a lack of fuel.

But the Cuban Electricity-Saving Programme continues in force, requiring industry to take measures to limit their energy consumption, especially during periods of higher demand, such as the summer season.

The Programme includes subsidised prices for energy-efficient lightbulbs for household use, and for the repair of refrigerators, which, if not running properly, drive up electricity consumption.

* Tierramérica is a specialised news service (www.tierramerica.net) produced by IPS with the backing of the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Environment Programme.