Guiteras Power Plant Could Resume Operations Monday if Technical Tests Show No Defects

The Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Plant, Cuba's largest single-unit power generator, is on the brink of resuming operations this Monday, following yet another forced shutdown. This marks the plant's third unplanned halt within a short time frame, with the most recent incident caused by an economizer failure.

Román Pérez Castañeda, the plant's general manager, outlined two potential scenarios on Sunday: "The optimistic forecast would have us synchronizing by early afternoon, possibly between 3 and 4 p.m. A more cautious approach would extend repairs into Monday morning, should radiography and hydraulic tests reveal any issues."

As of 2026, this marks the ninth time the Guiteras plant has been disconnected from the National Electric System (SEN), highlighting the precarious state of Cuba's energy infrastructure.

The plant had been reconnected to the SEN on May 9 after a 90-hour downtime involving nearly 300 corrective measures. However, it failed again just five days later, on May 14, due to a boiler leak. This malfunction led to a partial collapse of the SEN at 6:09 a.m., causing blackouts from Ciego de Ávila to Guantánamo.

Pérez Castañeda acknowledged the seriousness of the situation: "Unfortunately, we've experienced three outages in a very short period. One was due to the high-temperature reheater, requiring repairs on eight tubes; the next was a failure in the regenerative air heater; and the latest was in the economizer."

Despite the forced shutdown, the situation has allowed for more comprehensive repairs at the sites of previous failures. Regarding the state of repairs, the director noted that four weld seams were necessary on the high-temperature reheater, with three completed at the time of reporting.

In the economizer section, the direct cause of the latest outage, two segments needed replacement, requiring four weld seams. Two had been completed, and radiographic inspection had been conducted.

Beyond major repairs, the team is carrying out over 260 additional tasks, including electrical and automation work, as well as precautionary measures to shield panels and electrical boxes from moisture, a frequent cause of past failures.

The boiler furnace was also cleaned of ash and slag, which had accumulated due to a lack of extended maintenance periods. Additionally, a sealing issue at the bottom of the boiler, which resulted in gas and incandescent material leaks lasting about an hour, was addressed.

The energy context in which these repairs are taking place is dire: on May 13, Cuba recorded a record deficit of 2,153 MW, with Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy openly admitting the country was "out of fuel" in a situation that was "acute, critical, and extremely tense."

The Guiteras plant, inaugurated in 1988 and never having undergone comprehensive capital maintenance in over 36 years, contributes between 20% and 25% of national thermal generation when operating at full capacity, making each of its failures a direct blow to the electricity supply for millions of Cubans.

Pérez Castañeda himself has acknowledged that the plant requires at least 180 days of downtime for deep maintenance, a suspension that the country's electrical crisis renders unfeasible.