The Lidio Ramón Pérez thermoelectric plant, in Felton, in Mayarí, will stop again for at least seven days to carry out maintenance work. The official press reported on Monday of the new outlet of the National Energy System (SEN) of the Holguin colossus, whose unit 2 was already out of service due to breakdowns. The work that will be carried out now aims to recover the capacity of that block, which until now barely generated 175 MW.
After the work, the block is expected to produce between 250 and 260 MW, said Euclides Rodríguez Mejías, general director of the plant, who specified that improving the efficiency of the boiler is the essential objective, specifically the high pressure heaters and gas recirculating fans.
In addition, there is a fault in the right side wall of the boiler, which requires “a hydraulic test in order to detect other possible damage,” warned the manager. At the end of July, Felton 1 already suffered a boiler failure that forced it out of the system a few days after a serious fire in unit 2 disabled it as well.
At the end of July, Felton 1 already suffered a boiler failure that forced it out of the system a few days after a serious fire in unit 2 disabled it as well.
At the end of August, President Miguel Díaz-Canel toured the Holguin plant with Raúl Castro in a visit that was considered at that time as the symbol of the support that the general offered his dolphin after a summer of trouble due to the energy situation that, far from relaxing, had only just begun.
That day, the president stated that all the country’s resources were at the disposal of the thermoelectric plant, key in the SEN recovery process. “Felton 1 decides today the course of the recovery strategy and its start-up is vital for the fulfillment of the objectives set, in the first order, to minimize or eliminate the blackouts next December,” Díaz-Canel explained.
This break is precisely for this task, as indicated yesterday by Rodríguez Mejías, who stated that, once the work at Felton has finished, a “calculated maintenance of 10 days” will begin at the Antonio Guiteras power plant in Matanzas. Less than a week ago the forced stoppage of this plant, the main one in the country, was announced for 90 days, so it is unknown if the words of the Holguín manager They correct the previous news.
In any case, the strategy for the blackouts to stop in December seems complicated, since at each stoppage due to breakdown or maintenance a different breakage or failure of any of the processes that prevent the thermoelectric from synchronizing with the national system is discovered. .
The situation is so alarming that the official press celebrated by announcing the maintenance of Felton 1 that it would have remained “stable” for fifty days, although, following this line, it recalled that the hurricane left the generation of the entire island completely zero and, therefore, the Holguin plant.
“I would like to know if the Cienfuegos thermoelectric plant was able to synchronize with the system. It seems not because I have a blackout”
In this context, the generation deficit this Monday was 27%, as announced by the state-owned Electric Union (UNE), which estimated an electricity production capacity of 2,270 MW at peak time, when the maximum demand would be 3,000 MW.
According to company data, the deficit has decreased in recent days and after the dismissal –on Monday, October 11– of the Minister of Energy and Mines, Liván Arronte Cruz, and the director of the UNE, Jorge Amado Cepero Hernández . The entry of a cold front on the Island has probably contributed to this, which has slightly reduced the demand for electricity, but even so, the blackouts continue to be daily and the protests – more than 100 since the power outages began according to the project Inventory– do not stop.
Citizens, in the midst of the storm, still have room for black humor. Last night, a man from Cienfuegos asked the UNE for information on the status of the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes thermoelectric plant, whose unit 4 was disconnected from the SEN last Tuesday due to a breakdown. “I would like to know if the Cienfuegos thermoelectric plant was able to synchronize with the system. It seems not because I have a blackout,” he wrote sarcastically.
________________________
Collaborate with our work:
The team of 14ymedio is committed to doing serious journalism that reflects the reality of deep Cuba. Thank you for joining us on this long road. We invite you to continue supporting us, but this time becoming a member of our journal. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
