The energy situation in Cuba remains critical, and today's forecast projects power outages at 1,318 MW, partly due to the maintenance shutdown of the Felton Thermal Power Plant from the National Electric System (SEN).
This Monday, demand exceeded the initial forecast, resulting in a peak impact of 1,200 MW at 7:30 p.m., whereas the anticipated maximum impact was only 1,064 MW.
Yesterday, starting at 5:19 p.m. (local time), the electrical service began experiencing outages due to an inability to meet the demand. The disruptions 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 availability of the National Electric System (SEN) was 2,015 MW, while demand reached 2,250 MW, leaving a shortfall of 271 MW in capacity.
According to official estimates, during the midday hours on October 29, the impact from generation deficits could reach up to 650 MW, particularly in the central and eastern regions, due to the high transfer of energy to those areas.
Plants affected by breakdowns and maintenance.
The situation of the thermal power plants also presents serious challenges.
Currently, Unit 3 of the Santa Cruz Thermoelectric Plant, Unit 3 of the Cienfuegos Thermoelectric Plant, and Unit 2 of the Felton Thermoelectric Plant are out of service due to breakdowns. Additionally, Unit 2 of the Santa Cruz Thermoelectric Plant and Unit 5 of the Renté Thermoelectric Plant are undergoing scheduled maintenance.
The CTE Felton unit 1 has been added to these outages; it was taken out of service this morning for maintenance that the UNE deemed "unavoidable," 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 capacity of 1,902 MW is estimated, compared to a projected maximum demand of 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 deficit in generation capacity and extended maintenance in several units of the country's main thermal power plants suggests that there will be prolonged power outages across the nation on Tuesday.
In statements to 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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