The Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Plant, the country's largest power-generating unit, successfully reconnected to the National Electric System (SEN) on Saturday afternoon after being offline due to a malfunction. At 4:42 p.m., the Electric Union announced on social media that the plant was "back online with the SEN."
The unexpected outage occurred Friday morning when a leak was discovered in the condenser, as per sources from the Electric Union (UNE). Emergency repairs commenced immediately with hopes of reintroducing it to the grid within 24 hours. However, an initial attempt to restart early Friday morning failed. A subsequent breakdown halted the restart process, necessitating another shutdown.
Despite being the nation's primary thermal generator, the Antonio Guiteras plant struggled to maintain stable operations on Saturday following a series of technical issues over the previous 48 hours. Even though authorities announced on Friday afternoon that the initial breakdown had been addressed, the synchronization process was delayed.
During the Saturday restart attempt, technicians reported a malfunction in one of the feed pumps. They estimated repairs would take between six to eight hours. Earlier, the UNE had stated that the original issue was a rupture in the drive group of the alternating current motor of the Regenerative Air Heater, which had already been resolved.
Without the Guiteras plant, Cuba endured another day of prolonged blackouts on Friday due to a severe power generation shortfall affecting the island. According to Saturday's report from the UNE, the SEN experienced a deficit of 1,601 megawatts (MW) on Friday night, exceeding expectations despite not coinciding with peak demand hours.
The current situation is dire for distributed generation. A total of 47 plants are offline due to fuel shortages, resulting in a 369 MW loss. Additionally, 86 MW are unavailable due to oil shortages, and another 64 MW are offline at the Melones barge, totaling 519 MW unavailable in this sector. Under these conditions, an impact of 1,570 MW is anticipated during peak demand hours on Saturday.
FAQs on Cuba's Power Challenges
What caused the Antonio Guiteras plant outage?
The outage was initially caused by a leak in the condenser, followed by a malfunction in a feed pump during restart attempts.
How is the power generation shortfall affecting Cuba?
Cuba is facing prolonged blackouts due to a significant power generation deficit, with multiple plants offline due to fuel and oil shortages.
What are the main challenges facing Cuba's electric system?
The electric system is challenged by outdated infrastructure, frequent malfunctions, and shortages of essential resources like fuel and oil.