There is no more light, but it clears
2022-06-17 07:11:22 / make radio
Photo: Omara Garcia/ACN
We received the detailed explanation this Thursday via the Situation of the national electric power system In the current scenario of widespread power outages across almost the entire country, this was very necessary.
It is true that the problems are objective and that simply knowing and understanding them does not solve the population’s logical uneasiness, as the President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, acknowledged last night.
No matter how much understanding a person has for the matter, if the power goes out in the house, everyone feels it to the core. All the more so in this period of suffocating heat and many other economic difficulties that are overwhelming us, comments journalist Francisco Rodríguez Cruz for Making Radio.
But although having information no longer gives light, it enlightens us and much more. This general panorama of the situation in a sector where it is not possible to cover the full extent of the difficulties and their solutions only from a local point of view, allows a better understanding of other measures and derivations of this strategy to face the largest possible generation capacity in the shortest possible time.
There are several conclusions that anyone can draw without being a specialist in thermoelectric systems. First, that many people are working to solve the current crisis. Second, that it is not anyone’s whim, but a direct consequence of external factors beyond the Cuban government’s maneuverability, such as the financial and resource constraints caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic war waged by the Cuban government United States. Third, that it is also in the hands of citizens to mitigate the damage through more rational use of energy and maximum savings.
An unforeseen event like the recent costly accident at the Mariel thermoelectric power plant could not be expected by anyone, that’s true. Likewise, the country’s current investment priorities should be carefully considered, as for some time there has been talk of the obsolescence of part of the distributed generation assets, this essential concept of the energy transition envisioned by Fidel.
Photo: Presidency of Cuba
It was good to know back then that there are short, medium and long-term measures, covering everything from the repair and maintenance schedule to the construction of new thermoelectric plants.
We need to find a way that we can follow this vision of the system that addressed the problem from public information with a systematic approach that is not subject to adverse circumstances. Something we always say but then almost always forget.
However, the performance also left a very strong message about the importance of offering agile responses to citizens, either in an emergency or as a regular way of working. It’s a lesson that keeps coming up about the social and political communication these times call for.
By the end of June or beginning of July we will not have minimum stability in power generation. This still means very hard and annoying days, which however cannot be mitigated by explanations; but it will always be better than the uncertainty of not knowing what is happening. Facing this reality as a people, we affirm, will not bring us more light right now, but much greater clarity.