Although contingency measures were taken to postpone a complete shutdown at gas plants and units were synchronised, affected service persists across the country
Cuba is facing a critical situation in the electrical service due to a severe deficit in generation, caused mainly by the lack of fuel, which is keeping over 1,000 MW out of service.
At this moment, the affected electrical service across the country is due to the deficit in generation capacities, as the electrical system has already been restored following the failure, commented exclusively to Granma engineer Lázaro Guerra Hernández, General Director of Electricity at the Ministry of Energy and Mines (Minem).
He detailed that generation remains low, motivated primarily by the lack of fuel which is keeping over one thousand megawatts out of service in distributed generation, further aggravating the situation.
He indicated that today had been forecasted as one of the most complex due to the shutdown of unit 1 at Felton and the total shutdown of Energas being planned.
However – he explained – it was decided to postpone this total shutdown at the gas plants, meaning that today all Energas engines will be online, which will contribute around 320 to 330 MW.
This measure, he assures, also guarantees the continuity of the gas supply sent to the capital as domestic fuel.
«The day will continue to be complex and affected service will persist,» acknowledged the Director of Electricity at Minem.
Regarding Felton, he expanded that its shutdown will extend for around 36 hours to solve the reported fault, contributing over 200 MW upon its return.
Félix Estrada Rodríguez, Director of the National Load Dispatch, specified that by the closing of this report, unit 6 at Mariel and machine 1 at Santa Cruz had already been synchronised, allowing the system to operate with an availability of 1,200 to 1,300 MW.
Regarding the cause that triggered the division of the SEN (National Electrical System) on Wednesday morning, Guerra Hernández reiterated that it was caused by a fault on the line connecting the Ernesto Guevara thermoelectric plant in Santa Cruz and the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant in Matanzas, which caused a major imbalance in that zone that could not be controlled.
