Power outages are increasing in Cuba: Eight thermal power units are out of service

The forecast for the electricity generation deficit in Cuba continues to rise.

Autos en Cuba en medio de un apagón (Imagen de referencia) © YouTube/Screenshot-Reuters
Cars in Cuba during a blackout (Reference image)Photo © YouTube/Screenshot-Reuters

The energy situation in Cuba remains critical. In recent hours, two more thermal units have gone out of service due to breakdowns, and a third has been added to the list of those "under maintenance."

According to the report from Unión Eléctrica (UNE) for this Wednesday, there are currently eight thermoelectric units out of operation: five due to breakdowns and three under maintenance.

The forecast for power outages today is 1,400 MW.

Yesterday, the electricity service began to be affected due to a shortfall in generation capacity starting at 5:30 a.m. This disruption continued throughout the entire day yesterday and into the early hours of today.

The maximum impact due to a generation capacity deficit during peak hours was 1,444 MW at 7:10 p.m. The outages exceeded the planned 1,318 MW "due to an unexpected shutdown of unit 3 at the CTE Renté," stated UNE.

The Electric Union did not take into account that -according to the report published yesterday- in addition to unit 3 of Renté, unit 1 of Santa Cruz was also not listed as out of service.

The availability of the National Electric System at 7:00 a.m. today was 1,670 MW, while the demand was 2,400 MW, with a capacity deficit affecting 777 MW.

By noon on Wednesday, power outages of around 1,050 MW are expected, concentrated in the central-eastern region due to high transfers to that area.

According to the report, the list of malfunctioning thermoelectric units is as follows: units 1 and 3 of the Santa Cruz thermoelectric plant, unit 3 of the Cienfuegos thermoelectric plant, unit 2 of the Felton thermoelectric plant, and unit 3 of the Renté thermoelectric plant.

Units 2 of the Santa Cruz CTE, Unit 1 of the Felton CTE, and Unit 5 of the Renté CTE are currently under maintenance.

The limitations in thermal generation are 357 MW.

A total of 70 distributed generation plants, with a capacity of 406 MW, and the Santiago de Cuba barge, with 89 MW, are out of service due to fuel shortages, resulting in a total of 495 MW affected by this issue.

For the peak, the recovery of 150 MW is estimated from distributed generation plants that are currently out of operation due to fuel issues.

With this forecast, a peak hour availability of 1,820 MW is estimated, along with a maximum demand of 3,150 MW, resulting in a deficit of 1,330 MW.

If the expected conditions persist, outages of around 1,400 MW are forecasted during peak hours, with a higher impact in the central-eastern region.

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