The Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant will be offline for another four days for maintenance

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

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

Engineer Román Pérez Castañeda, the technical deputy director of the island's largest unified power generation block, specified that this tank, which suffered a fire in mid-June, is currently being addressed for restoration once its contents have been emptied.

However, he noted 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, the reporter said.

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

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

This Thursday, Cuba's Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, stated that there has been an improvement in the electricity service due to maintenance work on the island's thermoelectric plants. However, he confirmed that the demand cannot be fully met due to a lack of fuel.

In statements quoted by the official portal Cubadebate, the official noted that with the completion of most of the scheduled maintenance at the power plants, there has been an improvement in the electricity service across the country.

However, he clarified that "it is not always possible to meet peak hours due to the limited fuel available to support demand."

Cuba is facing a severe energy crisis that has sparked widespread public discontent, especially during these vacation months when families have their children at home, struggling with the heat and power outages lasting several hours.