Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Power Plant will stop for four more days for maintenance.

Officials from the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant in Matanzas, the largest in the country, announced that they would take it out of service for four days to undergo new maintenance.

Journalist José Miguel Solís reported on his Facebook page on Thursday that engineers are focused on consolidating the stability of the industry at 260 megawatts (MW), completing the installation of a new feed pump, and concluding the drainage of a tank that was damaged during a fire last June 14th.

Engineer Román Pérez Castañeda, the technical deputy director of the largest unitary energy generation block on the island, stated that this tank, which suffered a fire in mid-June, is being intervened to proceed with its restoration once its content has been evacuated.

However, he detailed that the industry is operating without imminent threats, but a four-day shutdown is planned to maintain generation at no less than 260 MW during the hottest months.

Currently, the plant is generating 265 MW, said the reporter.

However, this situation has raised suspicions among the population, since the plant had only been in operation for 15 days after a malfunction in the boiler, and had previously suffered an oil leak that caused another breakdown.

In April, the Guiteras power plant was also out of service for five days following a general maintenance in March, which sparked public protests due to the blackouts.

This Thursday, the Cuban Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, stated that there is an improvement in the electricity service thanks to maintenance work in the island's thermoelectric plants, but he confirmed that the demand cannot be fully met due to a lack of fuels.

In statements quoted by the officialist portal Cubadebate, the official pointed out that with the completion of most of the scheduled maintenance on the power plants, there is an improvement in the electrical service in the country.

However, he clarified that "it is not always possible to cover the peak hours due to the limitation of fuels to support the demand."

Cuba is experiencing a serious energy crisis that has led to widespread popular discontent, especially during these vacation months when families are at home with children, overwhelmed by the heat and several hours of power outages.