A fire in a sugarcane field was the cause of the disconnection of the National Electric System (SEN) that affected half of Cuba this Monday from the center to the east of the Island. The disconnection, from Ciego de Ávila to Guantánamo, occurred around at 2 in the afternoon and lasted until 9 at night.
“When there is a cane burning, the air becomes ionized and can cause failures between the phases of these transmission lines. When the two lines left the system, the power transfer between the western-central-eastern zone was cut off and caused the fall of the system from Ciego de Ávila to Guantánamo”, indicated a note from the Electric Union of Cuba.
The failure began to be noticed in a 220 kw line that links Sancti Spíritus and Vicente through two substations that left the SEN
The failure began to be noticed in a 220 kw line that links Sancti Spíritus and Vicente through two substations that came out of the SEN. Yoanni Acosta, director of the Electricity Base Organization (OBE) in the province, told the official newspaper Escambray that around 5 in the afternoon it was possible to connect the system in its damaged part, when the transfer from the western to the eastern zone of the Island began to be reestablished.
The electric company indicated that, due to the generation deficit during peak hours, “the province had 20 megawatts open”, which caused failures in various circuits that lasted until 8 at night. “As the generating plants of the East are incorporated, the affectation will also gradually decrease in all the towns of those territories,” added Acosta.
After the announcement of the reconnection, several people have warned on social networks that the blackout continued for them, complaints corroborated by the words of Lázaro Guerra Hernández, technical director of the UNE, who told state television that the service was would recover “gradually” and that the total recovery was estimated for 11 at night.
The official added that, in addition, 240 megawatts of generating capacity have been damaged. For this Monday, in fact, an estimated electricity deficit of at least 112 MW had already been planned, reaching 182 at peak hour.
Yesterday’s blackout is the biggest since that on September 27, 2021After Hurricane Ian, the National Electric System completely collapsed and the country was left in the dark for several hours. It was the culmination of a summer of blackouts that exceeded 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. at times and sparked almost daily protests in a multitude of municipalities.
The breakdowns in the thermoelectric plants, which provide most of the electricity to the Island, have been constant these months due to the lack of maintenance and the obsolescence of the plants, which mostly exceed their useful life.
Yesterday’s blackout is the largest since on September 27, 2021, after Hurricane Ian, the National Electric System completely collapsed and the country was left in the dark for several hours
With the arrival of cold fronts, the drop in demand last December brought relief to the situation, added to the arrival of two Turkish floating power plants and the recovery of some thermoelectric blocks. However, the authorities have already warned that as of January and, especially February, some plants would go back into maintenance in an “organized” manner to be ready in May and provide an adequate volume of electricity generation.
At the moment, Unit 1 of Felton and units 4 and 6 of Renté are in this situation. But to this must be added the breakdowns in blocks 6 and 7 of Mariel, 1 and 2 of Santa Cruz del Norte, 4 and 5 of Nuevitas and 2 of Felton.
The arrival, in February, of a eighth Turkish patana, much more powerful than the previous ones with its 240 MW capacity, has not been enough to put an end to the instability of the system either.
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