More blackouts in Cuba: Unit 6 of the Diez de Octubre CTE is offline

The electrical forecast in Cuba worsened this Monday following the shutdown of Unit 6 at the Diez de Octubre Thermoelectric Power Plant in Nuevitas, Camagüey, as reported by the Electric Union (UNE).

The state-owned company announced on Facebook that at 15:20, the unit went out of service due to the failure of the feed water pump, without specifying how long it will take for its return to service.

This "new" setback adds to the shutdown this Sunday of Unit 5 of the Diez de Octubre Thermoelectric Power Plant, which, along with other breakdowns, keeps the National Electric System on the brink of collapse.

The failure occurs in the context of a technical collapse of the National Electric System (SEN), which has experienced 15 consecutive days with deficits exceeding 1,800 megawatts (MW) and is entering its third week of severe energy crisis.

According to the official report, on Sunday the service was affected for 24 hours, with a peak impact of 1,950 MW at 6:20 PM.

At 6:00 AM this Monday, the availability of the National Electric System was 1,420 MW against a demand of 2,350 MW, resulting in prolonged power outages across large areas of the country since dawn.

The UNE had forecasted an impact of 1,100 MW by noon, and during the nighttime peak, a mere availability of 1,445 MW against an estimated demand of 3,400 MW, which would represent a deficit of over 1,950 MW.

In practice, more than half of the country will once again be without electricity tonight, a situation worsened by the "unexpected" outage of unit 6 at the CTE Diez de Octubre.

It had been reported that the system would operate with three thermoelectric plants out of service due to breakdowns—Unit 5 of the Máximo Gómez CTE (Mariel), Unit 5 of the Nuevitas CTE, and Unit 2 of the Felton CTE—while another four units remain shut down for scheduled maintenance.

Since December 1, the SEN remains in a “permanent technical red”, with daily blackouts of up to 20 hours in provinces of the east and center of the country, while the Government offers no immediate prospects for improvement.

With the shutdown of Unit 6 in Nuevitas, the national electrical deficit deepens and confirms that the threshold of 2,000 MW in daily outages has become the new normal of the Cuban blackout.