Block 1 of the Thermoelectric Power Plant (CTE) Lidio Ramón Pérez, from Felton, located in the eastern province of Holguín, synchronized in the early hours of this Wednesday with the National Electroenergetic System (SEN), after “maintenance that cannot be postponed” due to the dirt accumulated in the boiler, official media reports. the island.
Euclides Rodríguez Mejías, technical director of the thermoelectric plant, confirmed to Cuban News Agency (ACN) that the entry to the SEN of the generator occurred after 2:00 in the morning and that at 5:30 am this Wednesday it generated 180 MW, with a gradual increase in load that could take it up to 260 MW.
Rodríguez Mejías explained that the start-up process occurred after a crack in a pipe inside the boiler was corrected, a “typical breakdown of the start-up process”, caused by the cleaning of the slag during the maintenance carried out.
Congratulations to all the workers who, with their contribution from the CTE of #Felton they gave everyone today #Cuba Good morning with this news.#CubaForLife #loquenosUNEcompromiso https://t.co/ZtcMDpphjC
— Electric Union (@OSDE_UNE) June 22, 2022
Felton’s technical director also commented that in turbo group number 2 the process of equipment testing, completion of systems and assembly of the turbine continues to achieve the entry into operation of the unit, scheduled for the first days of July. , which would contribute to alleviate the current energy crisis that the Island is going through.
In this regard, the ACN recalls that Jorge Armando Cepero, general director of the Electrical Union (Une), recently commented that there were large deposits of ash inside, containing heavy metals that obstructed the correct circulation of the aerodynamic flow inside it. This led the block to work with “the minimum permissible technical parameters”, a very detrimental situation for the turbo group and all its aggregates.
Since the beginning of March, a partial capitalizable repair has been carried out in that block number 2 and, when the work on the low pressure cylinder was extended, both units in maintenance coincided at the same time. For this reason, the plant with the largest installed capacity in the country was completely out of service, the publication underlines.
Felton’s timing somewhat alleviates the deficit in the electric power generation that the country is currently facing, although it has not been able to eliminate it, according to the most recent party of the Unite
According to the statement of that entity, this Wednesday there would be affectations to the service due to a deficit in generation capacity, with a maximum of 400 megawatts (MW) around noon. Meanwhile, during peak hours, generation availability is estimated at 2,513 MW, with a maximum demand of 2,900 MW, which would cause a deficit of 387 MW.
The note confirms that diesel engines will be used at that time to generate a total of 117 MW that can partially offset this deficit, which, however, will not be enough to prevent part of the population from suffering from annoying blackouts.
The Une recalls that units 6 and 7 of the CTE Máximo Gómez and unit 5 of the CTE Antonio Maceo are currently out of service due to breakdowns. Likewise, the Otto Parellada CTE unit, Lidio Ramón Pérez CTE unit 2 and Antonio Maceo CTE unit 6 are still under maintenance.
The official information also highlights the limitations in thermal generation, which remains at around 579 MW, while in distributed generation 1,071 MW are unavailable due to breakdown and 410 MW are undergoing maintenance.
The entity responsible for the generation and distribution of electricity in Cuba also confirmed that this Tuesday there were service disruptions due to capacity deficits 24 hours a day, with a maximum of 611 MW at peak hours at 8:40 p.m.
