HAVANA, Cuba – The National Electric System (SEN) “is weak” and the current situation is “tense” and “complex”, recognized Vicente de la O Levy, Minister of Energy and Mines of Cuba, this Thursday in an appearance on national television. The statements occur in the midst of impacts whose maximum values are close to those recorded prior to the total blackout of the countrywhich occurred from October 18 to 22.
The scene seems like déjà vu: the day before the energy collapse also They offered emergency declarations on national television the Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero, the director of CUPET (fuel distribution company) and the director of the National Electrical Union (UNE).
Both O Levy, Marrero and the sector’s managers recognized the seriousness of the situation but guaranteed an improvement in the coming days.
However, less than 12 hours after Marrero’s staging, an unprecedented collapse of the SEN occurred that kept almost the entire country without electricity for almost 100 hours.
According to the statements of the Minister of Energy and Mines, there are currently two thermoelectric plants (CTE) outside the SEN: Felton and Céspedes; precisely two of the three (adding the Guiteras) CTE considered “the backbone of the National Electroenergy System of Cuba.”
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Vicente de la O Levy assured that “the conditions are not there for the system to collapse,” but rather that it “is weak.”
However, the figures offered by the UNE In recent days they indicate that the SEN is not only weak but could collapse again at any time.
Data with official information from the Electrical Union of Cuba (UNE).
| DATES 2024 | AVAILABILITY MW | MW DEMAND | DEFICIT MW | AFFECTATION MW |
| 10/16 | 2005 | 3380 | 1375 | 1445 |
| 10/17 | 1692 | 3300 | 1608 | 1678 |
| 10/18 | 1705 | 3200 | 1495 | 1565 |
| 10/23 | 1978 | 2950 | 972 | 1042 |
| 10/24 | 1990 | 3050 | 990 | 1060 |
| 10/25 | 2124 | 3000 | 876 | 946 |
| 10/26 | 2080 | 2980 | 900 | 970 |
| 10/27 | 2220 | 3000 | 800 | 870 |
| 10/28 | 2060 | 3050 | 990 | 1060 |
| 10/29 | 1902 | 3150 | 1248 | 1318 |
| 30/10 | 1820 | 2400 | 777 | 1050 |
| 10/31 | 1630 | 3150 | 1520 | 1590 |
| 1/11 | 1675 | 3200 | 1525 | 1595 |
Collapse: an imminent possibility?
Between October 16 and November 1, breakdowns have occurred in the seven CTEs currently in operation, the most affected have been Renté, Felton, Cienfuegos and Santa Cruz. Between two and four of them have had daily breakdowns, but this November 1, there were six.
In the same period, several CTE units have been maintained, most of them in Santa Cruz and Renté. Several distributed generation plants and swamps have also gone out of service due to lack of fuel.
The graph shows how after the synchronization of the SEN, there was a slight decrease in the deficit and the effects on electricity generation in the country. This did not mean that blackouts decreased; electricity cuts have continued, mainly in the central and eastern provinces. In some locations, the service has been extended by just one or four hours a day.
On October 29, there was a considerable increase in the deficit and the damages that decreased the following day. However, on October 31 and November 1 they shot again alarmingly the impact figures.
According to this data, the fall of the SEN “can occur at any time,” he assured CubaNet an electrical engineer who requested anonymity.
“The National Electric System works generation against demand. The two must be paired to maintain the frequency at 60 Hz, which is the established one. If this stability is not maintained, the System collapses, and that is what happened in the previous fall, a breakdown occurred in the CTE Guiteras, which is the one that contributes the most to the country and, when it became destabilized, a national black out occurred,” explained the specialist.
The graph made by CubaNet From UNE’s daily information, it shows how the availability of electrical energy has been far below demand.
For stability to occur in the face of generation deficits, according to the consulted engineer, it is necessary to disconnect some circuits, that is, cut off the electricity in different areas of the country, so that the demand is not so high and can be at par. with the generation that the country has.
“But with these deficits of 1,500 MW per day, the system is hanging by a thread; any carelessness, sudden breakdown, poor operation, accident, etc., and the system collapses again,” he said.
When asked if a new collapse in such a short time could be more serious, the specialized source responded that, to connect a complete system again, it must begin with energy, so that it “feeds the nearest distributed generation and thus begins by starting up.” again the thermoelectric ones, a long process that can last up to 7 hours and in that time failures cannot occur because it falls again.”
On the other hand, to start the energy it is necessary to have fuel. “As I understand it, the amount of fuel available is small. I suppose they (government officials) are taking extreme measures so that the system does not collapse again. But with the high deficit and how old the machines are, sometimes it becomes inevitable; any unexpected failure is destabilizing. Anyway, my advice is to load everything you can,” he warned.
Definitely, a new collapse would aggravate the country’s serious crisis, not only energy but also economic, in addition to representing a disaster of humanitarian proportions.
CTE/CUBA
- Mariel, Artemisa.
- Santa Cruz, Mayabeque.
- Talla Piedra, Havana (which no longer works).
- Antonio Guiteras, Matanzas.
- Céspedes, Cienfuegos.
- Nuevitas, Camagüey.
- Felton, Holguín.
- Rent, Santiago de Cuba.
TABLE MADE WITH UNE INFORMATION
| Dates 2024 | Breakdowns | Maintenance | Out of service due to fuel deficiency |
| 10/17 | 4 CTE: Unit 5 of the CTE Nuevitas, unit 2 of the CTE Felton, unit 4 of Energas Varadero and unit 3 of the CTE Renté. | 3 CTE: Unit 2 of the CTE Santa Cruz, unit 4 of the CTE Cienfuegos and unit 5 of the CTE Renté. | 50 distributed generation plants, the Mariel lake, the CDE Mariel, the Regla lake, 11 engines from the Melones lake and the Santiago de Cuba lake for a total of 799 MW. |
| 10/18 | 3 CTE: unit 1 of the CTE Santa Cruz, unit 2 of the CTE Felton and units 3 and 6 of the CTE Renté. | 3 CTE: unit 2 of the CTE Santa Cruz, unit 4 of the CTE Cienfuegos and unit 5 of the CTE Renté. | 54 distributed generation plants, the Mariel lake, the Mariel CDE, the Regla lake, 11 engines from the Melones lake, the Moa CDE and the Santiago de Cuba lake for a total of 909 MW. |
| 10/22 | SYNCHRONIZED THE NATIONAL ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | ||
| 10/23 | 3 CTE: unit 8 of the CTE Mariel, units 1 and 3 of the CTE Santa Cruz and unit 2 of the CTE Felton. | 2 CTE: unit 2 of the CTE Santa Cruz and unit 5 of the CTE Renté. | 24 distributed generation plants, for a total of 95 MW. |
| 10/24 | 3 CTE: unit 8 of the CTE Mariel, unit 3 of the CTE Cienfuegos and unit 2 of the CTE Felton. | 2 CTE: unit 2 of the CTE Santa Cruz and unit 5 of the CTE Renté. | 24 distributed generation plants, for a total of 135 MW. |
| 10/25 | 3 CTE: units 1 and 3 of the CTE Santa Cruz, unit 3 of the CTE Cienfuegos and unit 2 of the CTE Felton. | 2 CTE: unit 2 of the CTE Santa Cruz and unit 5 of the CTE Renté. | 35 distributed generation plants, for a total of 191 MW. |
| 10/26 | 4 CTE: unit 3 of the CTE Santa Cruz, unit 3 of the CTE Cienfuegos, unit 6 of the CTE Rente and unit 2 of the CTE Felton. | 2 CTE: unit 2 of the CTE Santa Cruz and unit 5 of the CTE Renté. | 57 distributed generation plants, for a total of 409 MW. |
| 10/27 | 3 CTE: unit 3 of the CTE Santa Cruz, unit 3 of the CTE Cienfuegos and unit 2 of the CTE Felton. | 2 CTE: unit 2 of the CTE Santa Cruz and unit 5 of the CTE Renté. | 62 distributed generation plants, for a total of 335 MW. |
| 10/28 | 3 CTE: unit 3 of the CTE Santa Cruz, unit 3 of the CTE Cienfuegos and unit 2 of the CTE Felton. | 2 CTE: unit 2 of the CTE Santa Cruz and unit 5 of the CTE Renté. | 64 distributed generation plants, for a total of 456 MW. |
| 10/29 | 3 CTE: unit 3 of the CTE Santa Cruz, unit 3 of the CTE Cienfuegos and unit 2 of the CTE Felton. | 2 CTE: unit 2 of the CTE Santa Cruz and unit 5 of the CTE Renté. | 66 distributed generation plants with 409 MW and the Santiago de Cuba plateau with 89 MW, for a total of 498 MW. |
| 30/10 | 4 CTE: units 1 and 3 of the CTE Santa Cruz, unit 3 of the CTE Cienfuegos, unit 2 of the CTE Felton and unit 3 of the CTE Renté. | 3 CTE: unit 2 of the CTE Santa Cruz, unit 1 of the CTE Felton and unit 5 of the CTE Renté. | 70 distributed generation plants with 406 MW and the Santiago de Cuba plateau with 89 MW, for a total of 495 MW. |
| 10/31 | 4 CTE: units 1 and 3 of the CTE Santa Cruz, unit 3 of the CTE Cienfuegos, unit 2 of the CTE Felton and units 3 and 6 of the CTE Renté. | 3 CTE: unit 2 of the CTE Santa Cruz, unit 1 of the CTE Felton and unit 5 of the CTE Renté. | 72 distributed generation plants with 411 MW and the Santiago de Cuba plateau with 77 MW, for a total of 488 MW. |
| 1/11 | 6 CTE: unit 5 of the CTE Mariel, units 1 and 3 of the CTE Santa Cruz, unit 3 of the CTE Cienfuegos, unit 5 of the CTE Nuevitas, unit 2 of the CTE Felton and unit 3 of the CTE Renté. | 3 CTE: unit 2 of the CTE Santa Cruz, unit 1 of the CTE Felton and unit 5 of the CTE Renté. | 72 distributed generation plants with 376 MW and the Santiago de Cuba plateau with 77 MW, for a total of 453 MW. |
