Cuba Boldly Steps Up Self-Reliance in Energy Production
Installing solar panels in Villa Clara in Sanctis Spiritus, January 2026
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez announced on February 5 that Cuba has a strategy to expand the use of its own energy sources in response to the crisis caused by the U.S. blockade on oil shipments to the island.
Diaz-Canel explained that since December 5, 2026, two days after the U.S. began its illegal naval blockade against Venezuela, Cuba has not received a single drop of fuel. This situation has had a broad impact on public health, the economy, transportation, and electricity generation, he added.
Despite the latest intensification of U.S. strategy of "economic suffocation," which is aimed at sowing fear among oil shipping companies and international suppliers, the Cuban government is working to ensure that this escalation of external aggression has the least possible impact on the Cuban people and economy.
"Cuba will not renounce receiving fuel. It is a sovereign right," Díaz-Canel stressed, adding that surrender is not an option and making clear that the U.S. has no right to impose its economic warfare on the Caribbean island or on third countries.
The Council of Ministers approved guidelines for a contingency plan designed to confront attempts at economic strangulation. While temporary restrictions on consumption and increased energy savings will be necessary, those measures will not be permanent, Diaz-Canel stressed.
The Cuban government's response is based on a comprehensive strategy to transform the energy matrix, including the recovery of electricity generation capacity -- more than 900 megawatts have been restored -- the use of domestic energy sources, restoring storage capacity affected by the 2022 accident at the Matanzas supertanker base, increasing national crude oil production, electricity generation from associated petroleum gas and the development of a national shipping fleet.
In 2025, Cuban authorities completed the construction of 49 photovoltaic solar parks, adding about 1,000 megawatts to the country's energy supply. Currently, those parks are generating 38 per cent of the national energy supply, at a time when Cuba has been unable for several weeks to rely on the normal energy distribution system due to fuel shortages.
Díaz-Canel announced that 5,000 photovoltaic systems of 2 kilowatts each are being installed in an equal number of homes that previously lacked electricity, which will allow Cuba to reach 100 per cent electrification. Another 5,000 photovoltaic systems are also being installed at prioritized service centers, including maternity homes, nursing homes, senior centers, polyclinics, residences for vulnerable children and bank branches, among others.
Authorities are also distributing another 10,000 photovoltaic systems to workers in the education and health sectors, while new investments in wind power generation capacity are underway. The Cuban government also expects to increase production of associated petroleum gas and supply manufactured gas to 20,000 new customers in Havana.
The Cuban president explained that successful tests were conducted in December for refining crude oil and producing derivatives, as well as for acquiring engines capable of using that fuel.
He pointed out that while none of these actions alone solves the problem immediately, they allow for changes in the energy matrix and help prevent the situation from becoming more severe. "The will to resist, recover and create will include expanding local production of goods and services," Díaz-Canel said.
"What does it mean to prevent fuel from reaching a country?" Díaz-Canel asked, It is a measure that directly affects the lives of millions of people, he said. Surrender is not an option and Cuba will not renounce its sovereign right to receive fuel, expressing the will and spirit of the Cuban people.
(teleSUR)
This article was published in
Volume 56 Number 4 - February 13, 2026
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/TML2026/Articles/T560046.HTM
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