Fire at Alquízar substation cuts power to thousands in Artemisa

What happened

A fire broke out at the Alquízar electrical substation (Kv 4000) in Artemisa province, Cuba, on Saturday 18 July 2026. The blaze cut power to around 1,800 customers, roughly 7,000 people, in the Mayorquín Sur and Pulido Guanímar districts. Three fire brigades, from Alquízar, San Antonio de los Baños and Güira de Melena, responded and extinguished the flames. Local authorities stated there were no injuries and no collateral damage beyond the substation itself.

The cause of the fire had not been determined at the time of reporting and was said to be under investigation. The incident occurred amid a severe national generation shortfall in Cuba, with the substation having previously been flagged for dielectric oil theft, though no link to this fire was confirmed.

Contributing factors

The cause of the fire is under investigation and has not been confirmed. The substation had previously been identified by the local electric company as a site affected by theft of dielectric oil, a widespread problem in Cuba, but no causal connection to this specific fire has been reported.

Lessons learned

1. A substation fire can spread via dielectric oil, so operators should check oil levels and seals at sites already flagged for theft.
2. Three brigades limited damage to the substation itself, so pre-planned mutual aid for remote sites reduces outage scope.
3. Unexplained substation fires during generation shortfalls need fast root-cause checks to avoid repeat loss of supply.

More lessons on theft, arson and site security, outages, backup supply and restoration, from every incident on the register.

Not yet known

• Exact cause of the fire
• Substation equipment age and model
• Duration of the power cut
• Cost of repairs and lost supply

This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.

Source

en.cibercuba.com