MÉRIDA, Mexico – The Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, the largest in the country, synchronized this Sunday, as expected, with the National Electric Power System (SEN) in a day that will continue to be marked by blackouts.
“At 11:49 AM the Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Plant returned to the Base Generation of the National Electric System. The repair of the fault that caused the withdrawal of the largest and most efficient thermal block in the country was possible thanks to the multi-sector participation of entities from the Ministries of Energy and Mines, Industries and the Military Industry Union,” said the Electric Union (UNE) on Facebook on Sunday afternoon.
“At this time, Guiteras is in the process of increasing loads and technical parameters related to the operation of the Unit are being verified. This machine, when it stabilizes its load deliveries to the country, will be able to provide more than 200 MW to Cuba,” the publication adds.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero had been seen at the thermoelectric plant. There, the director of the thermoelectric plant, Rubén Campos, explained to him that the outage, after 60 days of stability, was due to “a leak in a high-pressure superheater, which causes an excess of water consumption, cleaning in the condenser tubes and in the degenerative air heaters.”
Also, review work was carried out in several areas, taking advantage of the stoppage, said the manager.
This Sunday, the UNE predicts, despite the entry of Guiteras, a Sunday of blackouts affecting 380 MW during peak hours.
They are still out due to a breakdown Unit 1 of the CTE Santa Cruz, Unit 2 of the CTE Felton and Unit 5 of the CTE Rente.
Currently, power cuts affect all provinces (although they are worse outside Havana) and have reached up to 10 hours a day twice a day (around 20 hours in total).
In May of this year, Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel said the country would experience “prolonged” power outages until June due to maintenance work on the energy system. This measure, according to authorities, seeks to reduce interruptions during the months of July and August, when consumption is highest.
“We are going to have extended maintenance until June to minimize the inconvenience of blackouts in the summer, especially in July and August,” said Díaz-Canel in the sixth episode of his podcast Desde la Presidencia. The president made it clear that the total absence of blackouts cannot be guaranteed: “We cannot commit to there being no blackouts. Due to the current conditions of the system, that commitment is not possible now,” he declared.
