Energy Advisor

Jorge R. Piñon, director of the Latin America and Caribbean Energy Program at the Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy at the University of Texas at Austin: “The loss of half of the storage capacity of the Matanzas super port has permanently handicapped Cuba’s ability to optimize the transshipment of crude oil and fuel oil imports to refineries and thermoelectric power plants. This situation worsens the already frail electric power generation infrastructure by affecting the delivery and inventories of fuel. The burning of heavy high sulfur Cuban crude oil as fuel has deteriorated the performance and life cycle of the base-load generating units beyond repair. Postponement of manufacturers’ maintenance schedules and, most importantly, capital maintenance, has shortened the life of the more than 40-year-old units. Ten out of 20 generating units within Cuba’s eight base-load thermoelectric power plants are out of service, and those remaining are operating at less than…”