“Why and how did Cuba’s complete electric power grid collapse when the hurricane just impacted the western end of the Island?”

“Why and how did Cuba’s complete electric power grid collapse when the hurricane just impacted the western end of the Island?”

Cuba’s grid (SEN) is totally interconnected and interdependent on all eight thermoelectric power plants. That is why when Mariel is down it impacts Santiago de Cuba’s RENTE 926 kilometers away which has to, along with the others, pick up the deficit created. It is the perfect domino effect analogy in which you knock one domino over, impacting all others in a chain reaction. That is why the SEN is prone to a total system collapse as we saw yesterday.

Jorge R. Piñon, Senior Research Fellow
The University of Texas at Austin
Energy Institute
Flawn Academic Center (FAC)
2304 Whitis Ave. C2400
Austin, Texas 78712
jrpinon@utexas.edu
Cell: 305-926-6910
Office:512-475-8447
https://energy.utexas.edu/