The Thermoelectric Power Plant (CTE) Antonio Guiteraslocated in the western province of Matanzas, will stop the energy generation for 12 days next November to carry out maintenance work, according to official media reports.
About a visit from the president Miguel Diaz-Canel by the largest and most efficient unitary block in the country, it transpired that the plant continues to generate 237 megawatts (MW) in a stable manner, but the risk persists that it will suffer a new shutdown due to a breakdown, in accordance with the website Cubadebate.
On the tour, which also included the Super Tanker Base affected by a big fire last August—to verify the recovery work in place—, the president received detailed explanations about the repeated departures of the Guiteras in the last month, adds the report.
?| The tour continued through the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, which currently generates 237 MW, not without risks.
After the explanation to the president about the repeated exits of the unit in the last month, it was learned that in November it must have 12 days of maintenance. pic.twitter.com/pdmLMHDRJe
— Cuba Presidency ?? (@PresidenciaCuba) October 21, 2022
The new Minister of Energy and MinesVicente de la O Levy, also commented to Díaz-Canel about capital maintenance “with great precision” that the Matanzas thermoelectric plant must receive before June 2023. “Rigorous, professional diagnoses must be made, without false optimism,” said the executive.
Due to the constant failures of its boiler and automated systems of its machinery, Guiteras has been forced to stop its operations repeatedly in recent months, and the repair work carried out has not been able to correct the damage of its overexploited technology in a lasting way. .
Since the beginning of this year it had been announced that capital maintenance that the CTE needed would be executed in the final four-month period of 2022, but the instability in generation due to the large number of plants stopped due to breakdowns, and the unavailability of high numbers of MW in distributed generation for the same reason, have forced postpone that planning.
The actions planned to be carried out in 90 days would focus mainly on the main output transformer, the generator, the turbine and the boiler, and in addition to improving the efficiency and effectiveness parameters, the plant would recover the MW it gives up with respect to the installed capacity. , currently about 317 MW.
Due to its weight in National Electric System (SEN), each departure from Guiteras triggers the electricity generation deficit in the country, caused by the obsolescence of the vast majority of the plants that comprise it, the constant breakages they suffer, and the delays in installing new capacities and improving existing ones . To this are added, in addition, the difficulties to access financing and fuel, due to the sanctions of the United States.
In the most recent part of the Electrical Union (UNE) realizes that this Friday units 6, 7 and 8 of the CTE Mariel, the CTE unit Otto Parellada, units 4 and 5 of the CTE Nuevitas, unit 2 of the CTE Felton were out of service due to breakdowns and unit 4 of the CTE Rente, in Santiago de Cuba.
It was also reported that unit 2 of the CTE Santa Cruz, unit 4 of the CTE Cienfuegos and unit 3 of the CTE Rente did not generate due to maintenance, while the limitations in thermal generation around 393 MW were maintained. , and in distributed generation, 1,033 MW were unavailable due to breakdown and another 696 MW were under maintenance, according to the disclosed note.
This context would cause a maximum impact of 785 MW in the so-called peak hours, which would force cuts in the distribution of electricity throughout the entire country.
The constant deficit in the generation of electricity is the direct cause of the long and annoying blackouts that are reported every day throughout the Island and have motivated the discontent and protests of the population in different parts of the Island. This situation has been aggravated, moreover, by the damage caused by Hurricane Ian as it passed through the west of the Island, where the electrical infrastructure suffered severe damage.
The Cuban government intends to reduce blackouts before the end of the year with new investments and repair work. The intention is to add 450 MW to the SEN to minimize power cuts before the arrival of 2023. However, no progress has been seen so far and the situation remains very complex.
