Block 4 of the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Thermoelectric Power Plant (CTE), in Cienfuegos, synchronized the National Electric System (SEN) this Sunday, after almost three months of maintenance.
The unit started with 120 MW, which are added to those generated by block 3. This puts the Cienfuegos plant in full operation to guarantee service in the summer months, precise the newspaper Granma.
The repair, which lasted 81 days, managed to restore the bushings of the pumps that bring seawater to the condenser.
It also included checking the bearings, the steam regulation system and the load limiter, cleaning the furnace, changing the air and gas seals in the boiler, among other tasks.
Before entering the arranging stage —remember Granma—this block already had complex conditions in the boiler, in a decommissioned regenerative air heater and in the power, limited to 50 MW.
Yeranis Zurita García, general director of the CTE, warned the newspaper September 5 that both units, 3 and 4, with an installed capacity of 158 MW each, still have problems to be resolved.
Manufactured in Japan, unit 4 was inaugurated in 1978, so it already has 45 years of operation. It is, however, one of the most stable blocks in the country and the one that generates the most electricity.
Even President Miguel Díaz-Canel celebrated its entry into operation, which he described as a “firm step in the stabilization of the Electro-energy System.”
The Cienfuegos Thermoelectric, one of the most efficient in #Cuba, already fully operational. Your Unit 4 clocked in at 120 megawatts, after good maintenance. We continue advancing firmly in the stabilization of the Electroenergetic System. pic.twitter.com/0NnvJLPiHb
— Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (@DiazCanelB) May 15, 2023
The synchronization of unit 4 of the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes is good news for electricity generation in Cuba, which has suffered numerous effects in recent times.
He daily part de la Unión Eléctrica (UNE) did not estimate effects due to a deficit in generation capacity for this Monday, neither during the daytime nor during the night peak, at which time it foresees a reserve of 201 MW.
Even so, unit 2 of the CTE Felton remains out of service due to a breakdown, and unit 5 of the CTE Mariel, the CTE Guiteras unit and units 4 and 6 of the CTE Renté are out of service for maintenance.