Does Cuba need a coherent energy policy and regulatory framework?

A coherent policy and regulatory framework are essential for Cuba to facilitate an energy transition that does not disrupt energy supply, nor limits fuel supply to preferential political deals, incorporates short-term price subsidy programs, or employs inefficient technologies.

Will Cuba break the electric grid?

Our straightforward assessment then was that a breakdown of the electric grid was likely to occur. The key messages are clear: 1. Cuba should aim to build a diversified energy system based on modern and efficient technologies, with a high penetration of renewable energies, prioritizing solar and biomass. 2.

Should Cuba update its energy grid?

While small-scale, such renewable energy initiatives can reduce pressure on the energy grid and provide relief in especially vulnerable places. Due to rising temperatures and increasingly unreliable energy infrastructure, action to update Cuba’s energy grid is urgently necessary.

What's going on with Cuba's power grid?

REUTERS/Norlys Perez Purchase Licensing Rights The grid failure follows a string of nationwide blackouts since late last year that plunged Cuba's frail and antiquated power generation system into near-total disarray. The country has also been facing fuel, food and other shortages, along with its worst economic crisis in decades.

Why is energy policy not implemented in Cuba?

Likewise, due to the current monopolistic model of infrastructure in the Cuban economy and society, and because of the enormous amounts of resources necessary to turn the current situation around and achieve some progress, energy policy cannot be implemented disconnected from other more general changes in the economic production model.

Does Cuba have an energy crisis?

Cuba isn’t just in an energy crisis; the country’s grid sits on the verge of systemic failure. The National Electric System, most of which was built after 1959, hasn’t received the investment and maintenance it needs for 35 years—a consequence of Cuba’s complex political and economic history.