A total of 20 diesel engines, with the capacity to generate 2.1 megawatts (MW) each, were restored at the Cienfuegos Power Plant, the most modern facility of its kind in the country, designed to house 40 engines and provide 84 MW to the National Electric System (SEN).
According to newspaper website September 5these engines they arrived in three groups since last November. They were installed in the plant, located in the Camilo Cienfuegos Oil Refinery, and were ready for start-up after making adjustments and alignment in some of them.
The Power Plant Maintenance Company, the Engine Workshop and brigades from the provinces of Mayabeque, Matanzas, Sancti Spíritus and Ciego de Ávila also worked on these assembly works.
Aliesqui Jiménez Ravelo, director of the Geysel Basic Business Unit in Cienfuegos, told the newspaper that, with these 20 motors and other plants of the same type distributed throughout the rest of the southern province, the entity in charge of maintenance and electrical services will contribute 70 MW to the SEN.
The restitution of these motors, whose provenance is unknown, is part of the state strategy to revitalize the energy sector, plunged into an acute crisis.
For almost the entire year, the deficit in electricity generation has been one of the most serious problems in the country, affected by a deep economic crisis that exacerbated the COVID-19 pandemic, the sanctions imposed by the United States and the ineffectiveness of government measures.
The executive headed by President Miguel Díaz-Canel predicted improvements in generation capacity by the end of the year thanks to a maintenance plan for the old and overused thermoelectric plants, which suffer constant stoppages due to breakages.
In addition, they contracted the services of several floating plants of Turkish origin. In this way, he was able to alleviate the situation that produced protests in various areas of the country.
Since the beginning of December, the effects due to deficits in generation capacity have been minimal. This Friday, December 30, for example, no interruptions expected for the seventh consecutive day, since the SEN forecasts a 509 MW reserve for the hour of maximum demand.
