Significant increase in blackouts following a breakdown at the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant

The shutdown of the Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Plant due to issues with the boiler has significantly increased power outages in Cuban households.

Only in the province of Matanzas, where the electrical station is located, the impact this Friday night was estimated to be a generation deficit of 125 MW.

The pro-government journalist José Miguel Solís stated on his Facebook that he does not recall any higher figures in that province, underscoring the negative magnitude of the issue.

An informational note issued by the Electric Union of Cuba stated that "yesterday, the service was affected due to a deficit in generation capacity in the National Electric System for 24 hours, and it was restored at 3:41 AM today."

In that regard, the most significant impact occurred around 8:30 p.m., coinciding with peak hours, reaching approximately 1,138 MW. “This is 72 MW higher than the planned demand,” they noted.

The report states that the availability of the SEN at 07:00 hours was 2,160 MW, while the demand was around 2,250 MW, resulting in a shortfall of 135 MW.

For the noon schedule, a maximum impact of 450 MW was forecasted.

The conditions do not seem promising for the late afternoon to evening hours, when the peak electricity consumption occurs. During this time, when families typically cook and spend most of their time at home, it is estimated that there will be a supply of 2,310 MW and a maximum demand of 3,100 MW, resulting in a deficit of 790 MW.

If these conditions outlined by the UNE continue, a reduction of 860 MW is expected during this time.

Currently, the Guiteras Thermoelectric Power Plant, Unit 6 of the Renté Thermoelectric Power Plant, Unit 2 of the Santa Cruz Thermoelectric Power Plant (in the process of starting up), and Unit 2 of the Felton Thermoelectric Power Plant are out of service.

While Unit 1 of the CTE Santa Cruz is undergoing maintenance, they assured.

These conditions impose limitations on the thermal generation of 364 MW.

There are 45 distributed generation plants and the Santiago de Cuba plant out of service due to a lack of fuel, affecting a total of 279 MW, as noted in their statement.

However, they clarify that for the peak, it is estimated that the entry of Distributed Generation engines that are currently offline due to fuel issues will be 100 MW, along with the recovery of 50 MW from the Santiago power plant and the entry of unit 2 from the Santa Cruz Thermal Power Plant with 65 MW.