The Unión Eléctrica de Cuba has delivered a bleak weekend to the Cuban populace. Yesterday, the service was disrupted due to a generation capacity deficit throughout the entire day. On Saturday night, power outages reached 985 MW, peaking at 9:00 p.m., coinciding with the peak hour.
This figure exceeded the 840 MW predicted by the UNE. However, Unit 1 of the CTE Felton came back online at 3:51 a.m. this Sunday. Engineer Lázaro Guerra Hernández, Director of Electricity at the Ministry of Energy and Mines, stated on Cuban television that today's predicted outage would be less severe, at 650 MW, due to the anticipated return of two currently broken units during peak hours.
The Unión Eléctrica is hoping to reduce today's blackout expectations with this plan, although many online users are skeptical. According to the UNE's written report, six thermoelectric units remain out of service due to breakdowns. These include Units 1, 2, and 3 of the CTE Santa Cruz, Unit 4 of the CTE Cienfuegos, Unit 5 of the CTE Nuevitas, and Unit 2 of the CTE Felton.
As of 7:00 a.m., the SEN availability was 2,340 MW, with a demand of 2,400 MW, resulting in a 100 MW shortfall. For the daytime hours of August 11, an impact of 300 MW is expected. Thermal generation limitations stand at 431 MW.
Additionally, 48 distributed generation plants are offline due to fuel issues, contributing to a total of 300 MW affected. For peak hours, the entry of Unit 3 of the CTE Santa Cruz with 60 MW, the entry of Unit 5 of the CTE Nuevitas with 70 MW, and the recovery of 50 MW currently offline due to fuel issues are anticipated.
Based on these expected additions, availability is projected to be 2,520 MW with a maximum demand of 3,100 MW, resulting in a deficit of 580 MW. If conditions remain as forecasted, an impact of 650 MW is anticipated during peak hours.
Understanding Cuba's Power Outages
This section aims to answer some common questions about the power outages and energy crisis in Cuba.
What caused the recent power outages in Cuba?
The recent power outages in Cuba were primarily due to a generation capacity deficit and multiple thermoelectric units being out of service due to breakdowns.
Which thermoelectric units are currently out of service?
Units 1, 2, and 3 of the CTE Santa Cruz, Unit 4 of the CTE Cienfuegos, Unit 5 of the CTE Nuevitas, and Unit 2 of the CTE Felton are currently out of service due to breakdowns.
How is the Cuban government addressing the power outage issue?
The Cuban government is attempting to mitigate the power outages by bringing certain thermoelectric units back online and recovering distributed generation plants that are currently offline due to fuel issues.