The Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Plant, located in Matanzas province, has resumed operations, as announced in a brief statement by the Cuban Electric Company. This development aligns with previous updates from the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de La O Levy, who informed the Cuban presidency about the plant’s return to functionality.
“Around two in the afternoon, we anticipate a significant improvement as we will proceed to activate the Antonio Guiteras plant, which is ready and awaiting the go-ahead to start cautiously,” Levy explained to the government-run portal. Earlier, during the Midday News broadcast, engineer Lázaro Guerra Hernández, Director of Electric Energy at the Ministry of Energy and Mines, confirmed the plant's restart, though he noted it would operate at a restricted capacity of 120 MW.
Challenges in Meeting Power Demand
Hernández also pointed out that despite reconnecting the system, there would not be enough capacity to meet all demands due to ongoing fuel supply issues. Levy further elaborated, stating that with the Guiteras plant’s return, a significant capacity would be added, alongside the generation from Hanabanilla in Villa Clara and other plants in central and eastern provinces, transferring approximately 200 MW to these areas.
Efforts to Restore Power
Following a recent major outage on Sunday afternoon, efforts to restore the power system began immediately. “We adopted a similar approach to previous situations but with a more measured strategy, reactivating the Energás units. Almost all Energás units are currently synchronized, except for one. This enabled us to restore service in Havana and activate the barges in the Bay. Additionally, we synchronized the Mariel site, contributing positively to the situation,” Levy detailed.
The inclusion of the Nuevitas plant has also improved conditions in the eastern part of the country, which has been severely impacted, particularly due to the passage of Tropical Storm Oscar through the region.
Since last Friday at noon, when the Antonio Guiteras plant went offline, Cubans have been enduring widespread blackouts across the island, with some areas experiencing intermittent service or none at all for more than three days.