The National Electric System remains under significant strain this Tuesday, with prolonged outages across almost the entire country. Service interruptions began yesterday and continued into the early morning hours.
The country's energy situation remains unstable. This is happening amidst the recupThe damage caused by Hurricane Melissa and technical limitations at several thermoelectric power plants are being assessed. Authorities indicate that maintenance and repair work continues at various points in the system.
According to official report of Electrical Union (UNE)Yesterday, service was affected for 24 hours. It also remained interrupted during the early hours of today. The maximum impact due to the generation capacity deficit was 1542 MW at 19:00 PM. Additionally, 250 MW were reported affected in the provinces from Las Tunas to Guantánamo due to Hurricane Melissa.
Breakdowns and maintenance in power plants
The technical report indicates that the National Interconnected System (SEN) had a capacity of 1470 MW at 06:00 AM, compared to a demand of 2156 MW. This resulted in a deficit of 704 MW. An impact of up to 900 MW is estimated for the midday period.
Among the main incidents reported are breakdowns at units 5 and 6 of the Antonio Maceo Thermoelectric Power Plant, unit 2 of Felton, and unit 5 of Nuevitas. Also undergoing maintenance are the Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Power Plant, unit 2 of Santa Cruz, and unit 4 of the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Thermoelectric Power Plant in Cienfuegos.
Limitations and lack of fuel
Thermal power generation is experiencing limitations equivalent to 317 MW being out of service. In addition, 81 distributed generation plants are inoperative due to a lack of fuel. This represents a loss of 651 MW. Furthermore, 106 MW are unavailable due to a lack of lubricant, for a total of 757 MW affected by this issue.
La UNE He specified that the production of the 26 new photovoltaic solar parks, from the western region to the province of Holguín, reached 2235 MWh with a maximum capacity of 384 MW. This energy source contributes partially, but does not compensate for the lack of thermal power generation and the fuel shortage.
Peak Hour Forecast
During peak hours, the Energás Varadero steam turbine is expected to come online with an additional 20 MW. However, total availability is estimated at 1490 MW. This is compared to a peak demand of 2950 MW. If current conditions persist, a deficit of 1460 MW is projected. Thus, an expected outage of 1530 MW is anticipated during the night.
The national electricity landscape remains complex and will depend largely on the capacity to recuprestoration of the damaged plants and fuel supply in the coming days.