After several deficit days in the generation capacity, which has caused new electricity cuts in the country, the Unión Eléctrica no Cuba (UNE) does not forecast blackouts for this Saturday.
According to the state entity, even though several generating units remain faulty or undergoing maintenance, this morning the entire island had service and there were no damages during daytime hours.
For the night peak, the forecast is for an availability of 2,959 MW and a maximum demand of 2,750 MW, which, if fulfilled, would guarantee a reserve of 209 MW.
However, for this to be possible, unit 1 of the Santa Cruz del Norte thermoelectric plant (CTE), with 80 MW, and unit 6 of the Nuevitas CTE, with 110 MW, must come into operation at that time.
Also for the night, the UNE foresees the completion of unit 6 of Energas Boca de Jaruco with 30 MW, and the entry of 229 MW in diesel engines.
In addition to the Santa Cruz and Nuevitas units already mentioned, this Saturday units 6 and 7 of the Mariel CTE, unit 4 of the Nuevitas CTE and unit 2 of the Felton CTE woke up out of service, all due to breakdowns, as well as unit 8 of the CTE Mariel, unit 2 of the CTE Santa Cruz, and units 4 and 6 of the CTE Renté, in Santiago de Cuba, for maintenance.
In thermal generation, generation limitations amount to 315 MW, while in distributed generation 775 MW are unavailable due to breaks and 450 MW are under maintenance.
This Friday the affectations in the service extended for 1 hour and 18 minutes during peak hours, and occurred from Sancti Spíritus to Guantánamo. The maximum record of said affectation was 87 MW, “due to high transfers to the central-eastern area, due to the low availability of thermal generation and fuel limitations in distributed generation in this area,” said the UNE.
After months of continuous breaks in the generating plants and long blackouts on the island, the situation of the electrical system improved towards the end of 2022 and the beginning of this year.
However, the Cuban authorities alerted on a possible increase in cuts in the first months of the year, in response to a maintenance plan for the main CTEs in the country, the vast majority with more than three decades of exploitation.
