00:00Cuba is committed to transforming its energy infrastructure with private capital for investment and all leading role for renewable energy
00:10sources.
00:11The government's new projections include six measures for the energy sector and a series of changes for the transportation sector.
00:20With the details, Evelyn Leyva.
00:25The Cuban government has designed a strategy that brings together all economic actors in the energy battle.
00:31This involves opening up the import and sale of fuel to private and foreign capital, including the retail network.
00:37The goal is to expand supply and reach places that were previously unreachable.
00:42State-owned companies will be able to use foreign platforms to pay for these purchases, a financial route to bypass
00:48the restrictions of the blockade.
00:49Service centers are also being modernized, so they can generate their own electricity using solar power.
00:55Each measure aims at the same goal, to keep the country moving forward.
01:01The government alone, under this restriction, does not have the capacity to quickly resolve the problem.
01:09Therefore, all economic actors can contribute.
01:12The energy sector is complex. Energy transmission is not the same as energy generation.
01:20Today, generation is becoming more diverse. The state's absolute monopoly on generation no longer exists.
01:27What is important, and that is being debated, is how to connect the private generation to the grid when there
01:43is a surplus, and how to sell it to the grid at an attractive price.
01:48Foreign investment is necessary, provided that sovereignty over the sector as strategic as the country's energy sector is safeguarding.
02:00Transportation is the other link in the chain. Without trucks, fuel doesn't get delivered, and without fuel, there is no
02:06electricity.
02:06That is why the government is removing the restrictions that have been holding back the private sector, and allowing the
02:12direct import of electric vehicles.
02:14The condition is strategic. If they come with their own solar charging system, they are exempt from taxes and tariffs.
02:20This measure boosts mobility, and at the same time, relieves pressure of the national power grid.
02:33There is a limit of up to six vehicles. There are micro, small and medium-sized enterprises that have grown,
02:39and need to transport goods, raw materials, and passengers.
02:43And we tell them they can't buy or import any more vehicles. Imports are promoted and stimulated. Tariffs are waiting
02:50for those who import electric vehicles.
02:52Furthermore, individuals who are currently able to do so will be exempt from paying taxes, provided they have a corresponding
03:00charging station powered by renewable energy sources.
03:06But the vision goes beyond the current situation.
03:09Cuba is working on a program looking ahead to 2050 to transform its energy structure and reduce its reliance on
03:15imported fuel, a path that makes every citizen a key player in electricity generation.
03:19Work is underway at the national level on a much more comprehensive program looking toward 2050 to completely transform the
03:28energy infrastructure.
03:30And at the local level, at part of this decentralization process, efforts are underway to ensure that municipalities and communities
03:37also begin to engage in this energy transition process.
03:52The citizen would go from being merely energy consumers to becoming producing consumers. This promotes local energy that is community
04:01-based energy. It is not just about solving my own problem. People install a small solar panel and solve their
04:07own problems. But the city remains without power. In Cuba,
04:11the sustainable forward-wide system is being promoted to support hospitals, medical centers and banks.
04:19These measures are part of a broader strategy to confront the blockade and diversify power generation. The road ahead is
04:25long, but the direction is clear, to persist through innovation, to develop with sovereignty and to protect the people.
04:31and protect the people.
