Cuba: Fire Reported at Felton Thermoelectric Plant

This Friday afternoon a fire occurred in block 2 of the Lidio Ramón Pérez thermoelectric plant (CTE), in Felton, in the eastern province of Holguinwhich left “considerable damage” in that generating unit, according to official sources.

The incident began shortly after 2:00 PM and caused no injuries, according to Osmel Maturel Reyes, general director of the plant, quoted by journalist Lázaro Manuel Alonso, from Cuban state television.

In accordance with Posted by Alonso on your Facebook profileMaturel Reyes explained by telephone that “while the turbine of block number 2 was running, as part of the tests prior to its complete start-up, a leak occurred in one of the boiler tubes, through which national crude circulated. ” and “although the boiler was turned off, its high temperatures caused a fire that caused considerable damage to the unit.”

The fire, the director specified, lasted “almost an hour” and was extinguished “with our own means” and the support of the fire department. “The operators are fine and there are no injuries,” he added.

Images published on Facebook by Juan Pablo Carreras, photographer of the Cuban News Agency (ACN)show the severe damage caused by the flames.

The general director of the Felton CTE also assured that “after putting out the fire, they have returned to shooting block 1 for its subsequent synchronization to the SEN (National Electroenergetic System)”. This unit had just synchronized to the national network a day ago, after recently suffered an “unforeseen breakdown” that had caused his exit from the system.

As a result of the fire in the second unit, this block had been paralyzed, as specified in their social networks the journalist Bernardo Espinosa, who reported “significant” damage to the boiler of the damaged block, but not to the turbine and the electrical system.

The combination of both units makes the Felton CTE the one with the largest installed capacity in the country, although they have not been able to generate together for months. Block 2 was the object of a capitalizable partial repair since the beginning of March, in which work was being carried out with a view to its prompt reincorporation. This was expected to happen “in the next few days” as explained during a visit by the president of the National Assembly, Esteban Lazo, to the thermoelectric plant.

This fire then spoils the work carried out for months in that unit and puts its possible entry into the SEN on hold, at a time when the Island is going through a complex electro-energy situation, with several plants out of service due to breakage and necessary maintenance, which translates into in long power outages and the consequent discomfort of the population.