The Electric Company of Granma reported this Thursday the withdrawal from the national power system (SEN) of Unit number 1 of the Lidio Ramón Pérez (Felton) thermoelectric plant due to a boiler failure.
We inform our population in Granma that Unit No. 1 of the Lidio Ramón Pérez thermoelectric plant has just been disconnected from the National Electric System, causing a frequency fluctuation that affected line 5545, which supplies the circuits belonging to the municipality of Bartolomé Masó and the La Curva Substation," the company stated on its Telegram channel.
The malfunction had a significant impact on the distribution of electricity, as acknowledged by the Cuban Electrical Union (UNE), primarily in the eastern region of the country.
From a forecast of impacts of 750 MW made the day before on its social networks, the state-owned company admitted this Thursday that "the maximum impact during the day was 1,221 MW at 8:50 p.m., not coinciding with peak hours."
This morning of June 13 begins with 589 MW affected by a generation capacity deficit. By noon, a maximum impact of 800 MW is estimated.
For peak hours, an availability of 2,030 MW and a maximum demand of 3,200 MW are estimated, resulting in a deficit of 1,170 MW. Therefore, if the forecasted conditions persist, an impact of 1,240 MW is predicted, as stated by the UNE in its informational note this Thursday.
In addition to the boiler of Unit 1 of Felton, Unit 2 of this thermoelectric plant is also damaged. Both are added to the list of damaged thermal generation units which, according to UNE, include "Unit 6 of Mariel, Unit 2 of Santa Cruz, and Unit 6 of Rente."
The unit 1 in Santa Cruz, unit 5 in Nuevitas, and unit 5 in Rente are also disconnected from the SEN for maintenance.
With this scenario, the Electric Company of Granma warned its customers that there will be disruptions "outside the scheduled rotation plan by blocks."
"The circuits will experience a six-hour power service disruption, with three hours of electric service depending on the behavior and availability of the country's electric generation," the company specified.
According to the social media post from content creator Emilio Rodríguez Pupo, as cited by the state journalist Lázaro Manuel Alonso, the Felton workers began the "cooling process for corrections."
A significant increase in the deficit due to generation capacity, with an emphasis on the eastern region. The work will require no less than 3 days, due to the boiler cooling process. An increase in water consumption is the main sign of a ‘puncture’ in the boiler pipes, therefore, the unit shut down around 8:30 p.m. today, a fact confirmed by Eric Milanés Quinzán, general director of CTE Lidio Ramón Pérez,” Rodriguez Pupo stated.
The recent cleaning of the Felton pipes
The "puncture" reported in one or several tubes of the Felton once again puts the spotlight on the quality of the repair and maintenance work undertaken by the UNE as part of the government's strategy to restore generation capacity before the summer months.
Although Miguel Díaz-Canel's strategy is not perceived as credible among the population, the leader himself admitted at the end of May that there are no guarantees that the summer months will pass without disruptions in the electricity service.
"We are going to have extended maintenance until the month of June to minimize the annoyance of power outages during the summer, especially in the months of July and August," said Díaz-Canel.
On the other hand, referring to the coming months, the director of UNE, Alfredo López Valdés, tried to show optimism by stating that "we are aware that we are experiencing major blackouts, but there is a trend towards improvement."
According to the executive, no maintenance works have been planned for any thermoelectric plant in July, which does not mean that things are going to go well. "We are going to have breakdowns that normally occur in the system, we are going to have limitations that normally occur in the system."
Days before these statements, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, explained to the Cubans the measures taken in response to the complex and tense energy situation being experienced in the country.
From the Lidio Ramón Pérez de Felton thermoelectric power plant (CTE) in Holguin, the minister acknowledged that the situation "is a nuisance, of course," but stated that "the levels of power outages are bearable."
De la O Levy applauded the effort of the Felton workers. "They are going the safe way," he said on-site, watching as the technicians practically made the regenerative air heater of the thermoelectric plant "practically new and completely built in Cuba."
From there, he jumped to the condenser and discovered that this section of the CTE had "22,000 tubes that need to be cleaned." De la O Levy explained how many tubes per hour, per shift, per day, and per week are involved in the maintenance of the Felton condenser.
However, just three weeks after Felton started and after the cleaning of the 22,000 tubes, another breakdown related to these elements occurred this Thursday.
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