The Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Central (CTE), the largest electricity generator in the country, will resume operations this Saturday following a scheduled maintenance period of 96 hours that began on Tuesday.
Official journalist Jose Miguel Solís reported on Facebook that the repair work, which has faced unforeseen issues, will conclude around 7:00 p.m. on Saturday.
The start-up and synchronization process of the plant is estimated to take between 6 and 8 hours.
The director of Guiteras, Rubén Campos Olmos, stated that efforts were being doubled to restart the plant after 48 hours of maintenance, as there was an excess of ash and severe contamination of the heat exchange surfaces.
La Guiteras, located in Matanzas, has been operating for 37 years without significant interruptions, far exceeding its estimated lifespan of 30 years.
During that time, the plant has consumed over 9 million tons of domestic crude oil, causing significant wear and tear on its equipment and structures, which has led to increasingly complex and costly maintenance.
The current maintenance process aimed to restore the plant's capacity to generate over 250 megawatts (MW) of power, a critical figure to alleviate the severe energy crisis facing the country, where blackouts of up to 20 hours a day have been reported.
However, the accumulated wear and tear on the plant has turned each intervention into a technical and logistical challenge, highlighting the fragility of the national electrical system and the lack of foresight from the island's leadership.
In early November, the plant had already encountered operational difficulties, including a gas leak that reduced its generating capacity to just 175 MW, prompting the authorities to decide on its shutdown to carry out these essential works.
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