The energy situation in Cuba remains critical, with today's forecast predicting blackouts reaching 1,318 MW, partly due to the maintenance of the Felton Thermoelectric Plant, which has been taken offline from the National Electric System (SEN).
This Monday, demand exceeded the initial forecast, reaching a peak impact of 1,200 MW at 7:30 p.m., whereas the predicted maximum impact was only 1,064 MW.
Yesterday, starting at 5:19 p.m. (local time), the electrical service began experiencing interruptions due to an inability to meet demand. The outages continued until 2:11 a.m. today, when the supply was finally restored, according to the report published today by the Electric Union (UNE).
However, just three hours later, at 5:30 a.m., the service was interrupted again.
At 7:00 a.m. on October 29, the generation capacity of the National Electric System (SEN) was 2,015 MW, while demand reached 2,250 MW, resulting in a coverage gap of 271 MW.
According to official estimates, during the midday hours of this October 29, the impact of generation deficits could reach up to 650 MW, particularly in the central and eastern regions, due to the high energy transfer to those areas.
Plants affected by breakdowns and maintenance
The situation of thermal power plants also presents significant challenges.
Currently, unit 3 of the Santa Cruz Thermoelectric Power Plant, unit 3 of the Cienfuegos Thermoelectric Power Plant, and unit 2 of the Felton Thermoelectric Power Plant are out of service due to breakdowns. Additionally, unit 2 of the Santa Cruz Thermoelectric Power Plant and unit 5 of the Renté Thermoelectric Power Plant are undergoing scheduled maintenance.
Unit 1 of the Felton CTE has been added to these outages, having been taken out of service this morning for maintenance that the UNE described as "urgent," which will last for 10 days, further exacerbating the generation limitations.
Distributed generation in crisis
The limitations in thermal generation total 538 MW.
The distributed generation sector is facing similar issues. A total of 66 distributed generation plants, with a combined capacity of 409 MW, are out of service due to a lack of fuel, along with the Santiago de Cuba plant, which contributes 89 MW, resulting in a loss of 498 MW in this regard.
Projections for peak hours
During peak demand hours, a generation capacity of 1,902 MW is estimated, while the projected maximum demand stands at 3,150 MW, resulting in a deficit of 1,248 MW.
If these conditions persist, an impact of up to 1,318 MW is expected, which will significantly affect the central-eastern region of the country.
This situation of a deficit in generation capacity and the extended maintenance of several units in the country's main thermoelectric plants suggests that there will be prolonged power outages nationwide on Tuesday.
In an interview with Televisión Cubana, Lázaro Guerra Hernández, General Director of Electricity at the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MINEM), provided details about the current situation regarding electricity generation in the country.
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