the owner of the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Cuba, Liván Arronte Cruz, confirmed this Monday that the situation of the national electrical system continues to be “complex and tense” and that its solution “is not immediate, but gradual,” according to official media on the island.
The minister also assured that “the operating reserves that we have in the electrical system are insufficient to cover the demand, so the affectation” to the service, according to the review published on the official Cubadebate website of his intervention on the Mesa Redonda television program dedicated to that topic.
The leader recalled that in the month of June a strategy was drawn up to cover the demand during July and August, which planned to carry out maintenance on the thermoelectric plants Lidio Ramón Pérez, known as Felton, in the eastern province of Holguín, and in Antonio Guiteras, in Matanzas.
“On July 8, already in the process of adjustment and final tests for synchronization with the national electricity system, a fire occurred in the boiler of unit 2 of Felton due to a fracture in a fuel return pipe from the burners, causing damage. significant in one of the four main columns of the boiler“Arronte explained, according to the media.
The minister reported that this situation prevented compliance with the commitment to ensure the electricity generation necessary to cover the high demands that are generated during the summer, since the ability to have a minimum reserve was lost, adds the publication.
Cuba: an “operation error” causes prolonged blackouts in the eastern region
Arronte commented that for an electrical system to operate in a stable and safe manner, a reserve power available to face any contingency is required, and that in the case of Cuba this must be equal to or greater than 500 Megawatts (MW), the source points out. .
He also pointed out that the National Electroenergetic System (SEN) of Cuba has an installed capacity of 6,558 MW and at the moment the available average is 2,500 MW, with demands in peak hours above 2,900 MW. In the rest of the hours of the day, including early morning, there is an increase in demand of more than 100 MW due, basically, to the increase in temperature, explained the manager.
According to the head of the branch, “other difficulties have to do with the instability in the generation units that are operating, due to the lack of maintenance in thermal and distributed generation; limitations and instability with fuels, fundamentally diesel, to which is added the increase in demand due to the increase in temperature,” Cubadebate points out.
“It takes time and material resources that most require import and although many parts and pieces are manufactured in the country, reducing significant costs, raw materials are needed for manufacturing and subsequent assembly in the planned maintenance,” said Arronte, quoted by the middle.
According to data provided by the minister, and handled by Cubadebate, some 250 million dollars are required annually for the operation and maintenance of the SEN, not including the cost of fuel and investments.
Regarding the availability of gas, the minister pointed out that “the last fuel ships that we have been able to acquire are around 64 or 67 million and bring about 40,000 tons that are enough for a maximum of 10 days of consumption in the country. It costs us almost 30% more, since it has to be brought from distant markets”, the information specifies.
Some details of the fire that occurred in Felton also emerged in the television forum, which aggravated the situation of a system already suffering from serious problems in meeting the country’s demand before the summer season.
Edier Guzmán Pacheco, director of technical generation of the National Electric Union (UNE), explained that at the conclusion of the maintenance work on block 2 of Felton, which required 30 days more than the 84 planned, on July 8 it was decided to stop the tests that were being carried out to achieve the synchronization parameters with the SEN and make some corrections .
Guzmán Pacheco added that when the process was stopped, the failure of one of the elbows of a pipe occurred, which produced a fuel spill on the boiler, which was turned off, but still had hot parts.
“This caused the mixture to catch fire and spread rapidly throughout the fuel spill. In a minute and a half the flame reached its maximum development”, said the manager.
The director of technical generation of the UNE explained that many parts of the boiler did not suffer damage, such as the air heaters or the fans, and said that the magnitude of the damage is still being evaluated, both in the structure of the boiler and in its elements. own to generate steam.
Guzmán Pacheco affirmed that depending on the results of the study, the definitive solution will be taken, but confirmed that “it will not be a quick process” the process of recovering the boiler and putting the machine to generate, which could “take more than a year “, points out the information from Cubadebate.
Likewise, he ruled out any intentional action on the failure of that pipe and any bad technical manipulation. “Everything was done within the established norms and no parameters were violated. For this, a commission was created that is currently investigating the root of the failure, ”he sentenced.
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