Eight generating units of four thermoelectric Cubans were out of service due to breakdowns this Friday, a day for which maximum damages of 650 MW are forecast.
The blocks with breaks are 6, 7 and 8 of the Mariel thermoelectric plant, 4 of the Nuevitas plant, unit 2 of the Felton plant, and units 3, 4 and 6 of the Renté thermoelectric plant, in Santiago of Cuba, according to what was reported by the Electric Union (UNE).
In addition, according to the entity, unit 6 of the Nuevitas power plant was undergoing maintenance, while limitations on thermal generation (360 MW) were maintained.
In the case of distributed generation, 1,151 MW are unavailable due to breakdown and another 445 MW are undergoing maintenance.
For all of the above, the UNE estimated a maximum affectation of 650 MW during the daytime, while at night peak the expected affectation was 653 MW. This, despite the fact that the use of 157 MW in diesel engines was announced for that time.
Cuba has been going through a complex electro-energy situation for months, marked by the continuous breakdowns and maintenance of generating plants and difficulties with access to fuel.
To this have been added accidents, such as the fire in unit 2 of the Felton power plant, which prevented that unit from starting up as planned, at a time when blackouts are repeated throughout the island.
Just this week, the head of the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Cuba, Liván Arronte Cruz, confirmed that the situation of the national electricity system is “complex and tense” and that its solution “is not immediate, but gradual.”
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 is inevitable, in the middle of the summer season, in which the high temperatures normally raise energy consumption in the country.
