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The energy situation in Cuba remains critical, as in addition to the Guiteras going offline, another eight units are currently out of the National Electric System (SEN), three of them due to breakdowns and five others for maintenance.
Yesterday, the electrical service was affected for 24 hours, extending into the early hours of today.
The highest recorded impact was 1,696 MW at 6:30 p.m. (local time), coinciding with the peak demand period.
At 7:00 a.m. on this Thursday, the availability of the national electricity system was 1,465 MW, while the demand reached 2,350 MW, resulting in an impact of 955 MW during that time.
For today at noon, the Electric Union (UNE) estimates that power outages will reach 1,350 MW.
In addition to the Guiteras, the following units are out of service due to breakdowns: unit 5 of the CTE Mariel, unit 5 of the CTE Nuevitas, and unit 2 of the CTE Felton.
Additionally, the following units are under maintenance: unit 2 of the Santa Cruz Power Plant; units 3 and 4 of the Cienfuegos Power Plant; unit 1 of the Felton Power Plant; and unit 5 of the Renté Power Plant.
Additionally, there are limitations in thermal generation totaling 193 MW.
Due to a lack of fuel, 53 distributed generation plants are out of service, resulting in an impact of 279 MW.
For peak hours, a recovery of 80 MW is expected from distributed generation engines currently out of service due to lack of fuel; 60 MW with the commissioning of Unit 5 of the Mariel Thermal Power Plant and 70 MW with the startup of Unit 5 of the Nuevitas Thermal Power Plant.
With this forecast, the estimated availability for peak hours will be 1,675 MW, while the maximum demand could reach 3,180 MW, resulting in a deficit of 1,505 MW.
If these conditions persist, a reduction of 1,575 MW is expected during peak hours.
The Electric Company of Havana, for its part, informed its customers that "considering the generation capacity deficit in the National Electric System, it is necessary to suspend the electricity service for customers in the capital associated with Blocks #4 and #3 during the hours between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm today."
The entity added that in the afternoon, Block #1 will be affected from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM.
Additionally, from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Block #2 will be affected if necessary.
However, it is still the provinces in the interior of the country that suffer the most severe blackouts, which is a recurring complaint among thousands of affected individuals who criticize the capital for receiving preferential treatment compared to the rest.
The shutdown of the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant from the National Electric System shortly after seven o'clock on Monday night—just 24 hours after it had returned to the SEN following another malfunction—was the trigger for a crisis that had already been looming due to constant breakdowns and a lack of fuel.
It is not known when the Guiteras will return to the SEN. Unlike previous estimates published on its Facebook profile, the official journalist José Miguel Solís reported on Tuesday that it is still not possible to determine the exact time when the plant will resynchronize with the SEN.
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