In Guantánamo, 66% of its inhabitants are still without electricity, and in Granma, 83% of the population is not receiving electricity.
LIMA, Peru – “In Santiago de Cuba the restoration of electricity is becoming more complex,” reported the Minister of Energy and Mines on the Island, Vicente de la O Levy, during a National Defense Council (CDN) that met this Saturday, several days after the passage of Hurricane Melissa.
As justified by the owner, the electrical situation is difficult in Santiago de Cuba due to extensive damage to distribution networks, which limits the formation of island microsystems.
De la O Levy explained that the Moa fuel oil engines and the Nickel turbines have already been started. He then predicted that Unit No. 1 of the Felton Thermoelectric Power Plant (CTE) would be incorporated into the system in the next few hours, a connection that will be established this Sunday.
According to the recovery plan, after Felton starts, electricity must be given to the CTE Renté, “which before from the passage of the hurricane “It had its three units operating,” said the minister.
At the meeting it emerged that in Holguín the transmission lines are already being monitored for the start of Felton, while the Moa-Baracoa circuit suffered light damage and work is being done to energize it with the National Electroenergetic System (SEN).
In relation to the rest of the eastern provinces, the authorities assured that in Las Tunas more than 48,000 clients are with service; In Guantánamo, 66% of its inhabitants are still without electricity, and in Granma, 83% of the population is not receiving electricity, while the remaining 17% does so through the islands, although the service through the SEN to this province is limited by the fall of six high-voltage towers between Cueto and Bayamo.
While De la O Levy highlighted that the mini and micro hydroelectric plants are flooded in eastern Cuba, so they have not been able to start up, he also stressed that all the thermoelectric units from Camagüey to Artemisa are online.
For its part, the report from the official site From the Presidency Regarding the Defense Council, he highlighted that 98 affected transformers have been reported in the region and that most of the poles are lying down or fallen, but not broken.
In general, the energy situation throughout the Island remains critical, fundamentally marked by the lack of fuel and thermoelectric plants out of service.
This November 2nd, unit 2 of the Lidio Ramón Pérez CTE, located in Felton (Holguín) and unit 5 of the Diez de Octubre CTE (Nuevitas, Camagüey) are damaged, in addition to scheduled maintenance in Santa Cruz del Norte and Cienfuegos.
According to the daily report of the state Electrical Union, despite the fact that almost all of eastern Cuba is turned off, during peak hours an availability of 1,527 megawatts (MW) and a maximum demand of 2,600 MW are estimated, for a deficit of 1,073 MW and an impact of 1,143 MW at this time.
