The Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Power Plant (CTE), the largest electricity generation unit in Cuba, was once again disconnected from the National Electric Power System (SEN) this Wednesday, due to a leak in the economizer of the boiler, a failure that had already caused other recent disconnections of the plant.
Unit 1 of the thermoelectric plant located in Matanzas went out of service at 4:06 PM, reported the Electric Union (UNE) in a brief statement shared on Facebook.
«16:06 || The Unit 1 of the CTE Antonio Guiteras is offline due to a leak in the economizer», stated the state-owned company, without providing details about the severity of the malfunction, the time required for repairs, or an estimated date for the facility's return to the electrical system.
What is the economizer of the "Guiteras" and why does it fail so often?
The economizer, also known as ECO, is a component of the boiler that uses the heat from the combustion gases to preheat the water used in steam generation.
Its function is to improve the efficiency of the power plant and reduce the fuel needed to generate electricity. It consists of numerous metal tubes through which water circulates at high pressure and temperature.
When perforations, cracks, or failures in the welds appear, leaks occur that may require the unit to be shut down, the boiler to be cooled, and the damaged segments to be replaced before it can be put back into operation.
At the CTE Antonio Guiteras, this component has become one of the main points of failure.
According to plant executives, the economizer consists of 136 elements, each with three tubes, and has malfunctions in various areas, making it difficult to resolve the issue through targeted repairs.
The extent of the deterioration was reflected in the statements made in June by Rubén Campos Olmos, general director of UNE, who explained that a more extensive intervention would involve working on more than 500 tubes and performing between 1,000 and 1,200 weld seams.
The authorities have acknowledged that the plant requires a major overhaul, which would necessitate taking it offline for approximately 180 days.
However, that intervention remains outstanding, while the brigades carry out partial pipe replacements, welding repairs, and hydraulic tests whenever a new leak appears.
The breakdowns of the economizer of the "Guiteras" during 2026
The problems with this component have persisted for a significant part of the year. According to data released by the authorities at the end of May, between January 1 and the 29th of that month, the thermoelectric plant experienced 12 outages due to various failures, while the economizer defects accumulated 293 hours of unavailability.
May 14: The "Guiteras" went offline at 4:58 AM due to a leak in the boiler, which later caused a partial collapse of the National Electric System (SEN). During the repair work, the plant manager, Román Pérez Castañeda, confirmed that the failure occurred in the economizer, where it was necessary to replace two sections of two bends and perform four weld seams.
May 24: A pore in the economizer caused another disconnection at 4:12 AM. The perforation forced the unit to be shut down for four days, until it was able to rejoin the national electrical grid on May 28.
May 29: The "Guiteras" went offline again due to another leak in the economizer, after being connected for less than 36 hours. The UNE confirmed that it was once again a leak in the same component.
The reiteration led Campos Olmos to publicly acknowledge that the unit had suffered three breakdowns in that area in just two weeks and that it was not possible to replace all the damaged pipes and bends during the brief emergency shutdowns.
July 3: The plant registered its 17th outage of the year at 6:58 in the morning, again due to a leak in the economizer. The failure occurred just four days after its previous reinstatement on June 29. The repairs extended over several days due to the need to cool and inspect the boiler.
July 26: Another leak in the economizer took the Guiteras out of service at 1:07 AM, according to UNE. The repair also included interventions in the low-temperature reheater and required several hydraulic tests. The unit managed to synchronize again on August 4.
September 19: Following the general blackout that occurred the previous day, a preliminary inspection confirmed new damages to the economizer. The director of the plant explained that the tensions caused during the disconnection from the national electric system may have caused or aggravated perforations in various points of the steam generator.
September 23: When the brigades were trying to finish that repair, a hydraulic test revealed a new leak in the economizer. This issue forced them to extend the work and repeat the checks before allowing the restart. The installation was able to return to the system on September 27.
October 14: Another leak in the economizer caused another outage, just five days after the plant had resumed generation. The breakdown also caused damage to the low-temperature reheater.
During the subsequent repairs, UNE reported on October 17 that the crews were working on both components and replacing 11 damaged pipe segments. Hydraulic and pneumatic tests were also conducted before attempting a new synchronization.
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