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The Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Power Plant (CTE) announced on Tuesday that it expects to complete the ongoing repairs by July 8 in order to synchronize the plant with the National Electroenergetic System (SEN) the following day, a piece of news that comes amidst the worst electrical crisis Cuba is experiencing.
The information was published on the official page of the plant on Facebook, just one day after the country experienced the seventh total blackout of the SEN in 18 months. The collapse on Monday left an availability of around 1,000 MW against a demand close to 3,100 MW, resulting in a deficit that exceeded 2,200 MW.
The "Guiteras" has been out of service since July 3rd, when it registered its 17th outage so far in 2026. Since then, specialists have been working on repairing the economizer of the boiler, a component that has become the main headache for the country's largest thermoelectric power plant.
According to data from CTE itself, this system has caused half of all reported breakdowns this year and has been responsible for the last five consecutive shutdowns of the plant. Between January and May alone, it accounted for 293 hours of downtime due to failures in the economizer.
During June, over a hundred defective welding cords were replaced in an effort to reduce malfunctions, but the problem continues to recur.
The director of the thermoelectric plant, Román Pérez Castañeda, has acknowledged that the only definitive solution involves a major repair that would require at least 180 days of downtime, along with the replacement of about 500 tubes and between 1,000 and 1,200 welding seams. However, he has admitted that this intervention cannot be carried out because "the situation in the country still does not allow it."
The plant, with over 38 years of operation, has not received comprehensive maintenance since 2010. Although the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, promised to carry out this repair by the end of 2025, he first postponed it due to a "situational problem" and subsequently announced it again in April of this year, without providing a specific start date.
A limited relief for a system on the brink of collapse
While the SEN tries to recover from the nationwide blackout on Monday, the incorporation of "Guiteras" would provide approximately 200 MW of additional power to the electric grid.
Although this contribution would partially ease generation, it is far from resolving the structural deficit the country faces. The crisis has worsened due to the shortage of fuel: Cuba has gone over three months without receiving shipments of oil and currently produces only about 40,000 barrels daily, well below the 90,000 to 110,000 barrels needed to sustain the electric system.
This Tuesday, the reconnection process of the National Electric System (SEN) continued with an electrical corridor from Mariel to Sancti Spíritus, while the eastern part of the country awaited the commissioning of the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes power plant in Cienfuegos. In Matanzas, where the "Guiteras" is located, some municipalities have accumulated up to 87 consecutive hours without electricity so far in July.
Cubans react with disbelief
The announcement of the expected return date of the "Guiteras" was met with a wave of skeptical comments on social media.
"To leave on the 10th," a user joked.
Another user captured the sentiment of many Cubans, accustomed to the constant breakdowns of the plant: "The 9 comes in, the 13 goes out; the 20 comes in, the 24 goes out; the 31 comes in, the 4 goes out, and so on."
The reactions reflect the loss of trust among a significant portion of the population in official announcements regarding the stability of the electrical system, following months of prolonged blackouts and repeated breakdowns at the country’s main thermoelectric plant.
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