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The official page of the Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Power Plant announced on Thursday that the plant is in the cooling process following its most recent breakdown, and only when it reaches the appropriate temperature will it be possible to identify the fault in order to begin repairs.
The statement published on Facebook reads: "CTE Antonio Guiteras is in the cooling process. Once it reaches the appropriate temperature to access the affected area, the failure will be identified and repairs will begin."
This is the 16th outage of the National Electroenergetic System (SEN) recorded by the plant so far in 2026, just four days after it experienced a disconnection on June 22, when it was contributing 250 MW to the national system.
The likely cause points to a new failure in the economizer, the boiler feeder that has accounted for 50% of all shutdowns this year. The previous repair involved replacing more than 100 faulty weld beads.
The official announcement sparked a wave of sarcastic comments on social media, reflecting the exhaustion of Cubans facing the endless cycle of breakdowns and fixes.
"That must be cold since it never heated up," wrote a user, becoming the most shared phrase of the post. Other comments noted: "The cooling process lasts longer than the time it works."
"That takes five days to cool down and repair so it lasts half an hour," summarized a third party.
The frequency of breakdowns did not go unnoticed either: "That news has been reported about 365 times this year," noted another commentator.
The irony extended even to the appliances: "My refrigerator, crazy to enter the cooling process, is now feeling envious of the Guiteras. Who would have thought!"
The CTE Antonio Guiteras, located in Matanzas and with a nominal capacity of 330 MW, is the largest generating unit in Cuba. Inaugurated in 1988, it has been in operation for over 36 years without having received major maintenance since 2010, which has caused severe structural deterioration in its critical components.
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