Out of the National Electroenergy System (SEN) since 9:12 am today, the Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Plant (CTE), the largest and most efficient single-unit block in Cuba, is now undergoing light maintenance that could last three or four days, depending on the magnitude of the fault recorded in the boiler area.

According to Jorge Gómez, director of the production unit at the Guiteras CTE, as specified to the Cuban News Agency, the shutdown aims to solve a defect in the boiler, which in recent days caused an increase in excess water consumption at the plant, which has been in operation for more than three decades.

Gómez noted that, simultaneously, and as is usual in this type of shutdown, more than 200 corrective and opportunistic cleaning actions will be carried out, which should also contribute to the plant’s stability and raise its power output above 200 megawatts once it returns to the SEN.

«We have most of the necessary material resources to carry out the activities and a workforce that includes personnel from the Mariel and Santa Cruz power plant maintenance companies, as well as the plant’s own collective,» the director stated.

Awaiting a major overhaul scheduled for the end of this year, the CTE, considered a spearhead in thermal generation in the largest island of the Antilles, experienced a considerable increase in water consumption last Friday, which caused power delivery to be reduced first to about 170 megawatts and then to 140 megawatts before the decision was made to shut it down this morning.

Founded in 1988 by Fidel Castro, historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, the «Antonio Guiteras» stands out among its peers for being located in western Cuba, where the highest electrical loads are concentrated, and for consuming national crude oil via pipeline, without the need for transport costs, among other advantages.