Block one of the Lidio Ramón Pérez thermoelectric power plant (CTE) in Felton, Holguín province, is attempting to return to the National Electric System (SEN) after repairing a crack and over a hundred anomalies identified during the recovery work.
Workers and specialists at the facility fixed a leak in the fifth tube of the rear wall of the dome, one of the areas considered most complex in the critical path of the repairs that have halted block one since Tuesday, reported the Cuban News Agency this Saturday.
Víctor Hugo González Quiala, the plant's technical director, informed journalist Emilio Rodríguez from Radio Mayarí that the work in the dome area was scheduled to be completed this Friday.
If the unit successfully passes the hydraulic test scheduled for Sunday, it will be ready to synchronize again with the national electric system.
According to González, "the staff focused their efforts on resolving more than a hundred anomalies detected in the turbo group."
Among the actions taken were the recovery of the high heaters to increase the machine's efficiency and the attention to the outlet of the deaerator, with an emphasis on the feed tank, the source noted.
Workers from the plant itself, from the Electric Power Maintenance Company, and from ECI-3 participated in the tasks, which included the slag removal from the boiler and the cleaning of reheater number one.
A crack located in the upper area of the boiler, very close to the dome, had increased water consumption in the days leading up to the incident and forced a reduction in energy delivery, before the authorities decided to halt the operation to carry out the repairs, the information noted.
González stated that the actions were carried out with the utmost rigor to ensure the availability and reliability of the unit when it resumes electricity generation.
The plant's unit two remains out of order due to a fire that occurred at the start of the startup process after maintenance, which was expected to add approximately 220 megawatts to the National Electric System during the summer of 2022. The government announced in November 2024 that its rehabilitation would not be completed before late 2027 or early 2028.
The CTE Lidio Ramón Pérez, located in Felton, is regarded as one of the most efficient in Cuba.
With both Felton units out of service, the SEN is operating at its limit. This Sunday, the available generation stands at just 1,032 MW compared to a projected shortfall of 2,298 MW, according to the blackout monitoring in Cuba. In Holguín, some circuits experienced interruptions of up to 19 hours this Sunday.
Unit 1 of Felton has had a history of frequent shutdowns and restarts throughout the year. In July, its departure from the system triggered another collapse of the SEN, and in May it left the grid just a few hours after synchronizing.
Cuba has experienced at least seven total collapses of the National Electric System (SEN) so far in 2026, with blackouts in many areas exceeding 20 hours a day, leading to protests in neighborhoods of Havana and other cities.
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