The Cuban regime has announced plans to attempt restarting Unit 1 of the Lidio Ramón Pérez thermal power plant, commonly known as Felton, located in Holguín province, this Thursday. The announcement follows what officials are calling "successful" repairs on the plant's generator.
Edier Guzmán Pacheco, the general director of thermal generation at the Unión Eléctrica, confirmed that tests validating the repair of the generator's cooling system were successful. This information was shared on Facebook by official journalist José Miguel Solís. Guzmán emphasized that this "successful" repair paves the way for the complex process of starting and synchronizing with the National Electroenergetic System (SEN) in the coming hours.
Shortly after Solís posted his optimistic report, he not only removed the original post but also shared another "clarifying" text. "Clarification regarding information on Felton. In response to requests from sources and to avoid creating false expectations, as considered, we have withdrawn the information. Nevertheless, we wish them success and hope it synchronizes without significant issues," Solís noted in his new Facebook post.
This "clarification," seemingly respecting the sources' wishes and aiming to "avoid false expectations," suggests that Felton might not synchronize this Thursday as Solís initially claimed. The ongoing issues at Felton have been a major cause of prolonged blackouts affecting the country, particularly in central and eastern regions.
Despite the official optimism, Cubans have reasons to be skeptical about the "successful" repairs, as generating units frequently go offline "due to unforeseen causes." Back in January, the thermoelectric plant was disconnected from the SEN for maintenance expected to last 10 days. The work was to include cleaning air heaters in the boiler and condenser and inspecting two turbine bearings, a measure that exacerbated the energy crisis marked by several other units being out of order.
However, on February 12th, the Unión Eléctrica (UNE) announced that Unit 1 of the Central Thermoelectric Plant, which had gone offline the previous day due to a malfunction, would not rejoin the SEN for at least 20 more days. The UNE explained that Felton 1, located in Mayarí, Holguín province, was out of the system because of a cooling system leak in the generator, posing a significant risk that required immediate intervention.
Cubans continue to endure daily life without electricity and without hope of improvement. The anticipated deficit of over 1,600 MW for this Wednesday plunges much of the country into darkness, especially in central and eastern regions. On Tuesday, the service was disrupted for 24 hours, persisting throughout the night. The peak shortfall reached 1,748 MW at 7:10 PM, coinciding with the period of highest consumption, exceeding planned outages due to higher-than-expected demand.
Cuban Energy Crisis and Felton Plant Issues
What repairs were claimed to be successful at the Felton plant?
Officials reported that repairs on the generator's cooling system were successful, enabling the potential synchronization of the unit with the National Electroenergetic System (SEN).
Why was the original announcement about Felton Unit 1 retracted?
The announcement was retracted to prevent false expectations, as requested by sources, suggesting uncertainties about the actual synchronization of the unit.
How do the issues at Felton affect the Cuban population?
The frequent outages and inability of the Felton plant to remain operational exacerbate the energy crisis, leading to prolonged blackouts especially in central and eastern Cuba.