ETECSA sets nine o'clock in the morning to open its offices from November
Commercial attention will change on November 1 due to the continuity of summer time, a decision that also modifies school and working days.
ETECSA announced that on November 1 it will begin to receive the public at 9:00 a.m. in its commercial offices, as part of the adjustments associated with the continuity of daylight saving time in Cuba. The state-owned company announced the new opening time through a message addressed to its customers on its official Telegram channel. The company explained that the opening responds to the guidelines of the Energy and Mines portfolio, along with those issued by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security to maintain that time regime.
The change in commercial attention is part of the Government's decision not to return to standard time that corresponded to the first Sunday of November. The calendar announced by the authorities keeps the clocks advanced until November 7, 2027, so that time regime will also cover the winter months. The measure is adopted in the midst of the country's electricity crisis, with prolonged blackouts that affect both the daily life of the population and economic activities.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines bases the continuity of daylight saving time on saving electricity during the afternoon, when a period of high consumption is concentrated. The entity calculates that conserving it will prevent electricity disruptions from increasing by 126 megawatts during that slot. Within that estimate, it attributes 76 megawatts to a lower need to turn on artificial lights and another 50 megawatts to the use of photovoltaic generation.
The official provisions also reach schools and workplaces, whose entry times will be delayed by 30 minutes. Its validity will end on March 14, 2027, after starting to apply on November 1, 2026. The purpose is to accommodate school and work activities to natural light during the winter. The heads of the institutions may introduce other adjustments depending on their operating needs.
The continuity of daylight saving time will also have a consequence on the time difference between Cuba and Florida as of November 1. When the United States resumes standard time, Miami will be one hour behind Cuba. The island will remain at UTC−4, while the U.S. exchange rate will establish that separation between the clocks of both places.