The Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric power station, situated in Matanzas, is slated for a comprehensive overhaul by the end of 2025. This crucial maintenance is aimed at ensuring its efficiency and boosting its generation capacity to over 280 megawatts.
Official journalist José Miguel Solís shared on his Facebook profile that the energy block, which produced more than 1.8 million megawatts in 2024, will undergo its first major inspection in years. These details were provided by Román Pérez Castañeda, the plant's technical deputy director.
Despite the long-awaited comprehensive maintenance, and within the fragile National Electroenergetic System (SEN), the Guiteras plant has proven to be one of the nation’s most efficient facilities. It boasts a specific fuel consumption of 238 grams per kilowatt hour and an energy input barely above six percent.
Pérez hailed the plant's performance as an "achievement," crediting it to the use of domestic oil and its technical design. Nonetheless, he acknowledged the pressing need for a complete overhaul, particularly to enhance its operational capacity and optimize long-term performance.
Furthermore, he assured that adequate resources and funding have been secured for this endeavor. This statement is in stark contrast to the regime's history, which is marked by unfulfilled promises and challenges in executing infrastructure projects within the planned timelines.
Optimistically, Pérez Castañeda outlined that the works would involve structural repairs and the implementation of improvements, aiming to enable the plant to tackle the country's energy challenges more effectively.
In 2024, the plant operated for 323 days, underscoring its strategic importance in the national thermal generation sector, despite its current limitations. Having commenced operations with Cuban oil in 2002, the Guiteras plant will conclude over two decades of operation with this major overhaul, presented as an opportunity to attempt to renew and stabilize one of the country's energy pillars, albeit doubts remain regarding its successful execution given the severe economic crisis the nation is enduring.
At the beginning of December, the SEN suffered a complete collapse following an unexpected shutdown of the country's largest thermoelectric plant, the Matanzas-based Antonio Guiteras. This incident highlighted the severe technical precariousness of the plant, whose instability directly affects the already fragile energy generation capacity of the country.
In October, a similar incident occurred when the Guiteras plant went offline, causing an SEN collapse that left the country impacted for several days.
Key Concerns About Guiteras Plant Maintenance
Why is the overhaul of the Guiteras power plant important?
The overhaul is crucial for improving the plant's efficiency and increasing its generation capacity to over 280 megawatts, which is vital for the country's energy supply.
What challenges does the Guiteras plant face?
The plant faces challenges due to its technical instability, which has led to unexpected shutdowns and has exposed the fragility of the national energy generation capacity.
How has the Cuban government addressed the need for plant maintenance?
The government claims to have secured the necessary resources and funding for the comprehensive maintenance, although past failures to meet project deadlines raise skepticism.