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The Electric Union (UNE) of Cuba has just announced that unit 1 of the Lidio Ramón Pérez Thermal Power Plant -better known as Felton- is "out of the National Electric System."
In an update, the UNE indicated that at 9:38 a.m., Felton left due to a "false hydrogen sensor alarm from the generator."
Immediately, dozens of internet users erupted against the constant failures of the thermoelectric plant, which they see as an affront to the resilience and patience of the people.
The collective frustration was reflected in comments ranging from sarcasm to despair.
"News outside that the thermoelectric plant was stable; 'This is something for a dark humor movie'; 'There’s no nerves left to endure all this'; 'When it’s not Felton, it’s Guiteras, when it’s not, it’s Céspedes... always the same story'; 'Even the thermoelectric plants are spreading fake news'; 'We lost the joy of living' are some of the comments that reflect the discouragement in the face of the eternal energy crisis on the island."
Only four days connected to the SEN
The Lidio Ramón Pérez thermoelectric plant (Felton) was connected last Friday to the National Electric System after being out of service for more than a week.
The Felton was disconnected on January 30 for scheduled maintenance.
Four days later, their workers had only managed to clean 5,620 of the more than 22,000 tubes of its condenser, about 25% of the total.
The work included the main valves and the scoring of the boiler, cleaning of air heaters in the boiler and the condenser, as well as the inspection of two bearings in the turbine.
Relentless blackouts
The energy crisis in Cuba continues without noticeable improvement, despite the return of the Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Power Plant to the National Electric System (SEN) at full capacity this Monday, following an initial return on Saturday that was marked by some issues.
The report from the Electric Union (UNE) this Tuesday is extremely discouraging: Cubans experienced 1,614 MW of blackouts on Monday, and for today, they should expect at least 1,460 MW of interruptions during the night, and that’s before Felton 1 went offline.
By the time of the UNE report, there were six thermoelectric units out of service due to breakdowns or maintenance.
Two were out of service: unit 1 of the CTE Santa Cruz and unit 2 of the CTE Felton.
Units 2 of the Santa Cruz Thermoelectric Plant, and 3 and 4 of the Cienfuegos Thermoelectric Plant, as well as unit 5 of the Renté Thermoelectric Plant were under maintenance.
In addition to the issues with the outdated thermoelectric plants, the lack of fuel remains the regime's major challenge when it comes to meeting the energy demand in the country.
With the return of Felton 1 from the SEN, the situation becomes even more complicated.
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