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The Antonio Guiteras Thermal Power Plant (CTE), located in Matanzas, faced another attempt to synchronize with the National Electric System (SEN) early Saturday morning, after several days out of service due to new breakdowns.
Despite the issues identified in the previous tests, the plant authorities stated on Friday night that the unit could be online in the coming hours, although they did not provide any guarantees of stability.
According to journalist José Miguel Solís in Facebook, the plant recently completed the hydraulic test, but during the process, a leak was detected in the upper part of the boiler, in an area that is difficult to access.
Although this malfunction might pose an obstacle for the startup, the director of the thermoelectric plant, Rubén Campos Olmos, indicated that the technical team is confident in beginning the startup process during the early hours of the morning.
The procedure for synchronizing the Guiteras includes shutting down the registers, filling the boiler, igniting and adjusting parameters, as well as stabilizing the turbine at 3,600 revolutions per minute.
"It’s very easy to list, but it will be a dawn of high adrenaline levels. If everything goes as planned, around 500 MW will be deducted from the average deficit of previous days (if Felton and La Matancera are able to increase load and stabilize before peak demand hours)," Solís emphasized in his post.
However, past experiences show that the reintegrations of this plant tend to be fragile and short-lived. Additionally, the optimism characteristic of official communications often gives way to other problems and disappointments.
This Friday, the Lidio Ramón Pérez thermoelectric plant (Felton) reconnected to the SEN after more than a week out of service. The boiler ignition process began in the early morning, and according to the plant's Facebook update, by 11:00 am it was at 44 MW and continuing to increase load.
Uncertainty and conflicting communications following the latest disconnection of the Guiteras
Since the last disconnection of the Guiteras last Sunday, authorities have released several reports that have caused confusion and uncertainty among the population.
Initially, it was reported that the plant had been disconnected due to an "unidentified cause". Subsequently, the outage was attributed to a failure in the power supply from a nearby substation.
These contradictory communications have increased the public's distrust of the authorities, who have failed to provide clear explanations or effective solutions to the energy crisis the country is facing.
The lack of accurate information and the constant release of official reports with differing versions of the causes of the failures have created an atmosphere of uncertainty and discontent among the citizens.
Furthermore, the Electric Union of Cuba (UNE) has revised its forecasts regarding the reintegration of Guiteras into the National Electric System (SEN) several times, increasing uncertainty even further.
The population, which suffers from prolonged and recurrent blackouts, perceives these adjustments as a sign of the lack of control and planning by the authorities responsible for electricity supply.
The CTE Guiteras has been the cause of multiple outages in recent months. On October 18, 2024, the shutdown of the Guiteras caused a widespread blackout across the island.
The Cuban electrical system continues to rely on outdated thermoelectric plants, with increasingly unstable generation capacity. While the government still fails to present a structural solution to the crisis, Cubans continue to face prolonged blackouts, uncertainty, and constant unfulfilled promises regarding the stability of the national electrical grid.
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