Turkish power ship leaves Havana as blackouts in some Cuban provinces last up to three days

The Turkish floating power plant Erol Bey, with a capacity of 63 megawatts, left the port of Havana at around 2:30 p.m. local time on November 2, 14ymedio reports, citing EFE. Cuban authorities have not confirmed the departure; 14ymedio attributes it to unpaid debts to the Turkish company Karadeniz.

At their peak the Turkish power ships supplied more than 400 megawatts, and in 2023 they produced 4,494 gigawatt-hours, 23 percent of Cuba's total generation.

A shortfall of nearly two gigawatts

State utility UNE forecast demand of 2,850 megawatts for the evening of November 2, available capacity of 958 megawatts and a shortfall of 1,922 megawatts. "Limitations in thermal generation amount to 607 megawatts," UNE said. Outages in Havana exceed 20 hours a day, and in some provinces last up to three days in a row; the Cuban grid has collapsed completely eight times this year.

Thermal plants built in the 1960s and 1970s provide about 40 percent of generation. Sources also link the crisis to the US oil blockade in place since January.