Lázaro Guerra Hernández, technical director of the Electric Union (UNE), indicated that the synchronization of several blocks of electric generation in Cuba throughout this week will reduce the brutal impact of power outages, which were expected to reach almost 1,500 MW by this Tuesday.
"We had explained on Sunday that this week is important because we have a group of significant units joining the system, and we are thinking that as these units are incorporated into the system throughout the week, the condition will improve. By the end of the week, we aim to have better availability of thermal generation, which is the system's base generation," Guerra Hernández said in statements to Cuban Television.
"Undoubtedly, this will allow us to reduce the impact on the service," he added.
The manager specified that unit number 6 of the Nuevitas thermoelectric power plant, which had been taken out of service due to a breakdown, would be the first one to resume operation.
He pointed out that it will be followed by the number 1 unit of Felton, with a capacity of over 200 MW, and then the combined cycle of Energás Varadero, with around 90 MW.
Subsequently, the incorporation of Unit 3 from Santa Cruz del Norte (80 to 85 megawatts) is expected, and by the end of the week, Unit 5 from Mariel (65 MW) will also be joining.
In total, between 500 and 550 megawatts of additional power will need to be incorporated," he stated.
The journalist Bernardo Espinosa suggested that the population stay informed through the channels established by the Electric Union in each territory of the country so that they are aware of the planned affectation schedule, although he admitted that the power outages are exceeding what was conceived.
"Yes, when the disruptions are high, the situation of the circuits becomes much more complex because it truly becomes very complicated and it depends a lot on the availability of the system at any given moment... Right now, we have a level of unavailability due to fuel which is improving throughout the day, but at this moment it's still not resolved," said Guerra.
The variability that may exist in the availability of generation over time will result in the magnitude of the impact on the service, and based on that, the distribution we make for each of the affected territories. However, undoubtedly with these values, it becomes complex to rotate the circuits through the territories," concluded.
The Cuban Electric Union (UNE) published a disheartening report this Tuesday warning of blackouts that could reach up to 1,440 MW during peak hours, a figure that did not improve significantly for daytime hours, where disruptions of around 950 MW were forecast.
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