Less than a week after the strong blow of Melissa to the east of Cuba, at dawn this Sunday the news was reinstatement of unit 1 of the Felton thermoelectric plantwhich had been disconnected as a protective measure before the hurricane hit.
It was also possible to reconnect the Moa fuel battery, which, together with the work being done by the brigades of linemen arriving from all over the island, has allowed a still very incipient recovery of the electrical service in some areas of the eastern region.
However, on the afternoon of this very Sunday Both Felton 1 and the Moa engines once again left the National Electrical System (SEN) and further obscured the current panorama in the country. Both plants, however, could be reinstated by tonight.
In addition to the almost 1,300 MW that were affected yesterday between western and central Cuba due to a generation deficit, another 506 MW remained off due to the damage caused by the hurricane in the provinces of Guantánamo to Las Tunas, according to the Electrical Union (UNE).
Of these territories, only Holguinero and Las Tunas have energized substations, although the load served is still “very limited” and does not allow circuits to be rotated, while the three provinces of the southern east only have active small microsystems to electrify their “vital structures.” according to the newspaper Granma.
Lost MW
The problems in the generation units in recent days were not limited to Felton 1 and Moa. Block 3 of Cienfuegos, which had managed to synchronize shortly before, also left again on Saturday.
However, his disconnection was brief—at least for now—and he was able to reconnect a few hours later. Block 6 of the Nuevitas thermoelectric plant did the same, so this Monday there are only five thermal units outside the SEN due to breakdowns or maintenance.
Furthermore, Felton 1 and six of Moa’s engines must be reinstated for the night peak, according to the UNE.
However, 488 MW will remain out of service due to limitations of the plants in operation, while another 542 will stop being produced due to the lack of fuel and lubricants in distributed generation.
In this way, availability should be around 1,600 MW while the impact should reach 1,081 MW in the areas connected to the SEN, which does not include almost the entire eastern region of the island.
Even so, the deficit could be greater if the planned plants and engines are not connected or another departure occurs due to a last-minute breakage.
