The Thermoelectric Power Plant (CTE) Antonio Guiteras, located in the western province of Matanzas, and the largest of its kind in Cuba, stopped its operations shortly after noon on Monday due to a deficit in the levels of raw water necessary for the electricity generation.
This fact, as explained by the Cuban authorities, is a consequence of the Active fire since Friday night at the Matanzas Supertanker Baseclose to the power plant, and that has put the entire island in tension.
According to a statement released by the Electric Union (UNE) on its social networks, the unexpected departure of the National Electroenergetic System (SEN) of this thermoelectric plant increases the affectation due to the generation capacity deficit in the country, which means that there will be more blackouts on the Island than those initially planned by the authorities.
In a previous part, the UNE had reported that during the day the SEN would suffer a generation deficit of around 850 Megawatts (MW), which would reach 924 MW in the so-called night peak hours, when the demand for the service grows considerably.
However, after the shutdown of the CTE Antonio Guiteras, the expected effects on the service amounted to some 1,192 MW, taking into account that at the time of the event, the plant was generating around 202 MW, according to what Lázaro Guerra explained to national television. Hernández, technical director of the UNE.
Without providing further details, the manager commented that the lack of raw water in the Matanzas thermoelectric plant is related to the fire of great proportions in the industrial area. In turn, he reported that measures are being taken to overcome the situation with the transfer to Guiteras of the water already treated from the CTE Ernesto Che Guevara, in Santa Cruz del Norte, to continue with the generation process.
Guerra Hernández assured that the recovery of the Matanzas thermoelectric plant will depend on the availability of the water levels, although it is not expected that it will be able to enter this Monday for the hour of maximum demand.
Likewise, he explained, work is being done to guarantee the supply of national crude destined for the generation of the plant, since the pumping of gas from the affected facilities.
In addition to the Guiteras, and according to the part issued by the UNE on the day, units 6, 7 and 8 of the CTE Mariel, the CTE Otto Parellada unit, units 4 and 5 of CTE Nuevitas, units 1 and 2 of CTE Felton, and unit 5 of CTE Renté, in Santiago de Cuba.
Unit 4 of the CTE Carlos Manuel de Céspedes is stopped for maintenance, and the limitations in thermal generation (447 MW) are maintained, while in distributed generation 1,109 MW are unavailable due to breakdown and 577 MW are undergoing maintenance, adds the report.
The UNE also reports that for peak hours the entry of unit 5 of the CTE Nuevitas with 100 MW and the use of 162 MW in diesel engines is forecast.
Cuba has been experiencing a tense electro-energy situation in recent months, marked by the continuous breakdowns and outages due to maintenance of generating plants, and the problems of access to fuel, which could even worsen due to the fire at the Matanzas base. These effects translate into long blackouts, which motivate social discontent and have made the issue one of the government’s priorities, without the crisis being able to be mitigated so far.
