AREQUIPA, Peru – Cuba’s Electric Union (UNE) reported that the fifth unit of the Nuevitas Thermoelectric Plant went out of service “unexpectedly” on Tuesday due to a breakdown, which worsens the already serious situation of blackouts on the island.
According to the UNE report As of Wednesday, four generating units in the country are out of service due to breakdown: unit 1 in Santa Cruz del Norte, unit 5 in Nuevitas, unit 6 in Renté and unit 2 in Felton, two less than the previous day.
In any case, the disruption on July 31 is the highest in the last 10 days. Yesterday, the service was affected by a lack of generation capacity 24 hours a day and the service was restored at 04:52 in the morning today.
Likewise, 57 distributed generation plants are currently out of service due to fuel shortages, for a total of 381 MW affected by this concept.
It is estimated that during peak hours there will be an availability of 2,480 MW and a maximum demand of 3,180 MW, for a deficit of 700 MW. Therefore, if the expected conditions continue, an impact of 770 MW is forecast during this time.
Currently, power cuts affect all provinces (although they are worse outside of Havana) and have reached up to 10 hours a day twice a day (around 20 hours in total).
In May of this year, the Cuban ruler, Miguel Diaz-Canelsaid the country would experience “prolonged” power outages until June due to maintenance work on the energy system. This measure, according to the authorities, was intended to reduce interruptions or breakdowns during the months of July and August, when consumption is highest.
“We are going to have extended maintenance until the month of June to minimize the inconvenience of blackouts in the summer, especially in the months of July and August,” said Díaz-Canel in the sixth episode of his podcast From the Presidency. The president made it clear that the total absence of blackouts cannot be guaranteed: “We cannot commit to the absence of blackouts. Given the current conditions of the system, such a commitment is not possible now,” he said.
These blackouts not only undermine the economic performance of Cuba, which has been mired in a serious crisis for years, but have also been the trigger for anti-government protests. The most notable ones occurred on July 11, 2021the largest in decades, and most recently on March 17 in Santiago de Cuba and other locations.
Follow our channel WhatsApp. Receive the information from CubaNet on your cell phone through Telegram.
