Energy deficit in Cuba: 1140 MW of impact expected for Saturday night

The Unión Eléctrica de Cuba has announced a forecast of impact of 1140 MW for the night peak this Saturday, due to insufficient generation capacity. The electrical authorities foresee an availability of 2180 MW at the moment of highest demand, which will reach the 3250 MW, which implies a deficit of 1070 MW.

Synergistic situation in the morning hours

To the 07:00 hours on the morning of this Saturday, the National Electric System (SEN) reported an availability of 2050 MW, in response to a lawsuit from 2550 MW, which was already causing an impact of 547 MW due to capacity shortfall. In addition, it is expected that during the midday average hours, the shortfall will reach the 850 MW.

Ongoing impacts due to capacity deficit

The previous day, the impacts due to generation capacity deficit extended throughout the 24 horas and continued affecting the service in the early hours of this Saturday. The maximum impact due to generation deficit was 1198 MW to the 7:40 PM from Friday, a value higher than planned, due to the non-operation of unit 5 of the CTE Nuevitas and 3 of the CTE Santa Cruz.

Breakdowns and maintenance in thermoelectric plants

Currently, several critical units are out of service due to breakdowns, further complicating the energy situation:

• CTE MarielUnits 5 and 8.
• CTE NuevitasUnit 5.
• CTE FeltonUnit 2.
• CTE RentéUnit 6.

Additionally, unit 2 of the CTE Santa Cruz and unit 5 of the CTE Renté are under maintenance, which has further limited thermal generation in 383 MW.

Limitations in distributed generation and the swamps

The situation is also complicated in the distributed generation, where 44 power plants they are out of service due to lack of fuel, including the Patana of Santiago de Cuba, which represents a total impact of 322 MW. Of that total, 252 MW correspond to distributed groups and 70 MW to hell with it.

Estimated recoveries for the night peak

To partially mitigate the situation, the Unión Eléctrica estimates the recovery of 80 MW coming from distributed generation engines that are out of service due to lack of fuel, as well as the start-up of unit 6 of the CTE Renté during the nighttime peak.

The energy situation in Cuba remains critical, with significant impacts throughout the entire country.