The slight improvement that the Cuban electrical system had shown during the early hours of this Sunday faded again a few hours later. The Electric Union confirmed a new outage at one of the main thermoelectric plants in the western part of the country.
According to the technical report from 9:43 in the morning, Unit 3 of the Ernesto Che Guevara Thermoelectric Power Plant, located in Santa Cruz del Norte, went out of the system due to an emergency related to catalytic converter (CAR) washingThe unexpected shutdown occurred just hours after the Ministry of Energy and Mines' morning press conference. At that conference, a slight decrease in the national deficit had been reported.
A breakdown that worsens the situation
With this output, There are now six thermal units out of service due to breakdownsUnit 2 in Felton, Unit 8 in Mariel, Units 3, 5, and 6 in Renté, and now Unit 3 in Santa Cruz del Norte. Three more are undergoing maintenance. These are Units 1 and 2 in Santa Cruz, and Unit 4 in Carlos Manuel de Céspedes in Cienfuegos. In addition, more than 300 megawatts are limited due to technical problems.
In total, more than 800 megawatts remain outside the thermal system, leaving distributed generation and renewable sources as the only alternatives to sustain part of the daytime demand.
Deficit exceeds 1600 MW again
Before this new breakdown, the Electric Union had estimated a deficit of 1570 megawatts for peak hoursThere was an availability of 1850 megawatts compared to a demand of 3350. However, the exit of Unit 3 of Santa Cruz could raise the deficit above 1600 megawattsThis would return the figures to the critical range of previous days.
The country is facing another Sunday marked by blackouts, despite efforts to redistribute available fuel among distributed generation plants. The Renté thermoelectric plant in Santiago de Cuba continues without power, while work continues to restore at least one of its three shut-down units.
No signs of stability in the short term
The technical reports from Unión Eléctrica reflect an unstable reality: each temporary improvement is neutralized by new breakdowns or a lack of fuel. Even when some units manage to join, others unexpectedly leave the system, which prevents a resumption of operations.cupsustained reaction.
As October progresses, with a progressive increase in consumption due to high temperatures and lack of rain, the pressure on the electricity grid will increase, with no short-term structural solution having been announced so far.