SLP, MEXICO.- A fire originated in the electrical panels of the “Carlos Manuel de Céspedes” thermoelectric plantfrom Cienfuegos, caused considerable damage and commotion this Thursday morning, after the news broke in official media.
According to Juan Bravo Núñez, director technician of the entity, around 10:00 am. A noise was heard and a fire subsequently broke out in Unit 3 that quickly moved to Unit 4. The unit where the fire broke out suffered “considerable damage,” the manager said.
The photos published on Facebook on the official account of the thermoelectric They show completely burned machinery and cables.
According to Núñez, the fire was put out by the fire departments and there were no human losses to regret.
However, although there are no injuries, some workers They were taken to the hospital due to shortness of breath.
“It caused us a big problem now, but we are working on determining the cause of this incident,” he said.
The station Radio City of the Sea He had specified that the event does not worsen the situation of the national energy system, since the two units of the thermoelectric plant – which add up to about 316 MW – were already outside the National Electric System (SEN) because they were “under maintenance.”
The two units of the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Thermoelectric Power Plant (CTE)from Cienfuegos, left the National Electric System (SEN) last December for “intensive maintenance,” and it will take at least three months to generate electricity again.
José Osvaldo González Rodríguez, general director of the CTE, explained to Granma that several elements of the turbine have been “intervened.” “That is a very complex job and it takes time. We estimate that part of it should be completed by the end of January; and in mid-February, the other,” he said.
Afterwards, they will begin to assemble the turbinewhich the manager described as “the critical route for Unit No. 3” and the process is expected to conclude in the first half of April.
“The fundamental objective is that Unit 3, when it synchronizes, with its 158 MW, which is its nominal power, can regulate the SEN frequency, and have the reliability that the System blocks have always had,” he contributed.
However, the other unit in maintenancenumber four, has damage to the boiler and would take longer to reconnect to the SEN.
In it they plan to replace the exchangers associated with that failure, which could lead to “having a boiler in much better condition.”
After getting the pipes ready, maintenance will be carried out on the auxiliary equipment: the block transformers, the generator and the turbine, and the unit would finally be reincorporated into the SEN in the first half of June.
The two units of the CTE of Cienfuegos had not left the system since the general fall of the SEN on October 20.
