It arrived in March 2006, in a few days before April launched its frenetic downpours against us. It came in a truck, immaculately new, brilliantly useful. It was our electric plant, our own generator, that would run the elevator and the hall lights when the blackouts cast their shadows over our area. We were saved. The Energy Revolution benefited us with this device, shaped like a decommissioned locomotive. Reinforcing its railroad-like appearance, its imposing structure culminated in a chimney, from which we would never see even a puff of smoke.
That May Day, Fidel Castro announced in the Plaza that all the buildings in the area already had their own devices for electricity self-sufficiency. "Our plant," however, had still not produced a single kilowatt, it hadn't hit a home run even once. In the time that passed between the arrival of this object and the public announcement, it had created three jobs to watch over it and refill its fuel. The employees were placed on rotating shifts, although at first there was nothing to do other than to observe our beautiful "light machine." Several attempts were made to fire it up, but it never worked well. Perhaps we hadn't installed it correctly, maybe it needed more gas, maybe...
A few weeks passed, from the time it was one more number on the list in the speech by the Maximum Leader. The cement base the neighbors built to hold it had become a bench where the kids would sit. The three employees who looked after it enjoyed a few more months of their salary without any work to do, until even those positions were eliminated. The power plant - according to what the truck driver who came to get it said -- was relocated to a school for Latin American students. But not before promising us that the one that was really ours -- larger and with greater capacity -- would arrive in a few days.
It's been six years. People talk about that generator as if they were mentioning a beloved ghost that had crossed their path. But others, the most entertaining, joke and shout from balcony to balcony, "Hey... I think they're coming now with the generator, our generator."
Yoani's blog, Generation Y, can be read here in English translation.
Translating Cuba is a compilation blog with Yoani and other Cuban bloggers in English.
Yoani's new book in English, Havana Real, can be ordered here.
Follow Yoani Sanchez on Twitter: www.twitter.com/yoanifromcuba
handsomely may I say, for her services which mainly consist of
selling her country to the highest bidder.
It still amazes me how in the world can this woman which claims
that she only has access to 140 characters (sms), can write a blog.
and be able to add about 400 twitter friends per day most of which
have zero tweets. I kept asking this question on her twitter account
but instead of giving me an answer she chose to block me. I guess
it's the inconvenient truth once again.
The last decade has been one of mixed results. From 1998 to approximately 2004, there was some progress in the electrical energy system. However, the continuous use of domestic oil, the age of several units, which has produced breakdowns in some of the major plants, have created a crisis in the system, and the government has tried to solve it by purchasing small diesel and fuel oil plants, as well as the use of gas for fuel, in what they call Energas.
It appears that maintenance had been a problem all along since 1959. This can be attributed to a number of causes. In the early years of the regime a main cause was the loss of trained management and supervisory personnel, aggravated by the confusion which followed from the intervention and nationalization process.
After the initial stages of the new regime, there probably was some stabilization of the industry, but by that time the Eastern Europe and Soviet equipment began to be installed and reach operational status. The differences in design, engineering standards, and other similar factors, etc. along with the distant source of spare parts, contributed to the continuation of the maintenance problems and the resulting unreliability of the system.
http://miscelaneasdecuba.net/media/Pdf1/CUBASPOWERSECTORINFRASTRUCTUREAABB.pdf
And it's nice of you to post a link that debunks your own comments.
Much that is wrong in the island's electrical system can be traced to the simple fact that the system was designed and implemented decades ago by US interests and has not since been maintained properly. This primarily due to the blockade which prevents access by Cuba to both spare parts and expert assistance