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Unit 4 of the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Thermoelectric Power Plant in Cienfuegos remains disconnected from the National Electroenergetic System (SEN) and, according to authorities, will not be reconnected until the end of October, following more than nine months of inactivity.
In December 2024, the Cienfuegos thermoelectric power plant was completely disconnected from the national electrical system to subject its two units to intensive maintenance. At that time, the priority was the repair of Unit 3, severely affected by the collapse of the national electrical system in October of that year, which damaged its turbine.
That intervention concluded in May 2025 and allowed the unit to remain operational during the summer, with an availability exceeding 95%, according to its director, José Osvaldo González Rodríguez. The official himself has acknowledged that Unit 4 is facing a more complex process, as it presents difficulties in both the turbine and the boiler:
"Unit 4 is currently undergoing expanded partial maintenance, with actions similar to those carried out on Unit 3. Cracks have appeared in the boiler at the junction of the thermally influenced area of the weld, along with issues in the exchangers, superheater, and reheater," explained the official media outlet 5 de Septiembre.
The new promises regarding the start of Unit 4 in Cienfuegos were published on September 9, 2025, just one day before the massive blackout that left almost all of Cuba in the dark following the total collapse of the SEN. This coincidence further fueled citizens' skepticism towards the official announcements, perceived as an attempt to buy time in the face of the critical energy situation.
The technical complications mentioned by González Rodríguez have forced a delay in the repairs well beyond the initial deadlines. Last January, the government claimed that Unit 4 would be ready by June, but now its start-up has been postponed until October 2025, citing that the rectification work requires "more rigor."
The official insisted that the "quality" of maintenance is a priority, but the lack of transparency and repeated failures to meet schedules are escalating public discontent.
Although the Cienfuegos thermoelectric plant was considered one of the most reliable in the country for many years, its history also shows lengthy shutdowns and significant repairs.
In 2017, it was out of service for almost a year during a modernization process that included the replacement of key equipment, and in 2018 it received millions in investments aimed at improving its efficiency.
However, since late 2024, the situation has worsened with a series of breakdowns in its two units, unprecedented simultaneous shutdowns, and repeated failures to meet deadlines announced by the Electric Union and the government itself.
This spiral of failures and unfinished maintenance has turned the plant, once a benchmark of stability, into another fragile link in a national electrical system on the brink of collapse.
Meanwhile, power outages continue to impact the lives of millions of Cubans, who greet the new official announcements with skepticism. First it was said June, now October: a pattern of expectations and delays that further erodes the credibility of the government’s management in energy matters.
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