The Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric power plant, the main thermal block in Cuba, went offline from the National Electric System again last Friday night due to a failure in the economizer input header, the same component that had already caused two previous outages in just two weeks, as reported Canal Caribe from Matanzas.
Engineer Rubén Campos Olmos, general director of the Electric Union, openly acknowledged the recurring issue: "People might wonder, in just two weeks the machine has malfunctioned three times in the same area due to a failure in the inlet head of the economizer, which is what this component is called. But it is not possible to change all those curves in such a short time."
The affected component contains more than 500 tubes and approximately 1,000 cords in the section that fails repeatedly.
"We are talking about more than 500 tubes with perhaps 1,000 cords from this part, from this curve that are failing us. Each time the problem is resolved, we try to investigate the sides to address this situation," explained the executive.
The plant authorities recognize that the definitive solution requires significant maintenance—a comprehensive shutdown of approximately 180 days—that the Guiteras has not undergone in 16 years.
"We continue to prepare the capital for this unit to see when we can proceed, and then everything will be replaced, and of course, the failure rate will decrease," noted the same executive.
One structural factor worsens the situation: the plant has been in operation for 39 years, which leads to inevitable wear and tear on its components.
In 2025, the boiler leaks accounted for nearly 70% of the actual time the machine was out of service, as acknowledged by the manager himself, who also defended the quality of the internal work: "It's not exactly that things are done poorly where we work. There is quality control, there is an inspection system involving many colleagues."
The issue has been brought to technical councils and events focused on science and technology, where experts agree that without this capital maintenance, the recurring failures will persist.
Campos Olmos traveled to Matanzas to personally supervise the repair work, which is being carried out under extreme conditions: high temperatures, confined spaces, and poor visibility inside the boiler.
The chronology of breakdowns in May includes a shutdown on May 14, another on May 24 due to a leak in the economizer, a reconnection on May 28, and a new disconnection on Friday, May 30.
The plant has accumulated at least nine breakdowns so far in 2026, amid a national energy crisis: as of this Monday, the system reported an availability of only 1,113 MW against a demand of 2,720 MW, with a projected deficit of 2,042 MW for the nighttime peak and 106 distributed generation plants out of service due to a lack of fuel.
The authorities of the central estimate that the Guiteras could synchronize with the national electrical system again next Tuesday, when it would be able to provide a load of approximately 200 MW to the country.
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