The First Secretary of the Party's Central Committee and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, during a visit to the "Antonio Guiteras" Thermoelectric Plant this Saturday morning as part of his tour of the country's energy facilities, highlighted the role of this thermal unit in the National Electricity System (SEN) capacity recovery program.
During the visit, accompanied by the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, the Director General of Unión Eléctrica, Alfredo López Valdés, and the highest political and governmental authorities of the province, he observed the complex operational situation of this plant, considered the most efficient unitary block in Cuba, although severely impacted by the energy crisis.
The director of the thermoelectric plant, Rubén Campos Olmo, an engineer with more than twenty years of experience in the sector, explained to the Head of State that the unit currently provides 226 megawatts, its power limited by problems with one of the feed pumps and high water consumption.
Campos explained that the two immediate priorities are "maintaining generation with the greatest possible reliability and efficiency until the major repairs are completed" and preparing for that process, scheduled for December and lasting 180 days.
Speaking to the press, the director of Guiteras addressed the main cause of the thermal plant's deterioration and the 15-year delay in capital maintenance.
The engineer was emphatic in pointing to the U.S. economic and financial blockade as the factor that most negatively impacts the thermoelectric plant, even calling it "the Cuban industry most affected by the blockade."
Perfect example on how the blockade hurts Cuba described in the following paragraphs 👇
He explained how, starting in 2015, when the American company General Electric bought the French company Alstom (the original company that designed and assembled Guiteras), access to a French loan that channeled all supplies and spare parts was lost. Since then, management has become extremely complex.
Campos Olmo cited several specific examples:
- Banking problems: The near impossibility of finding banks in Europe, even in Paris, willing to work with Cuba due to the risk of multi-million-dollar U.S. fines.
- Equipment Interception: The case of two bombs held in Jamaica because the manufacturer was forced to remove a U.S.-made part before shipping them to Cuba, resulting in significant costs and delays.
- Seizure of supplies: A variable speed drive valued at $1 million, already paid for and manufactured, was retained and not delivered, requiring a refund.
- Critical delays: Special North American valves, crucial to the system, whose delivery is repeatedly postponed, complicating maintenance plans.
Faced with this reality, which is manifested in prolonged power outages, President Díaz-Canel considered "capital maintenance urgent" and emphasized that "it must be well prepared, with quality." Until then, he stated that "we must continue recovering capacity to lessen the impact of the plant's shutdown" during the works, which would allow Guiteras to reach 315 MW of capacity.
In a conversation with executives and workers, the president learned about the measures implemented as part of the Government Program for the recovery of the national electricity system, including salary increases, training, food and hygiene product deliveries, specialized medical care, and other essential support for the more than 400 workers who, despite many difficulties, keep the power plant online.
At the end of his visit, Díaz-Canel left a message of recognition in the visitors' book of the plant founded in 1988:
It's very motivating to visit this iconic thermoelectric plant and appreciate the commitment and responsibility of its workforce to restore the plant's generating capacity and contribute to the much-needed and urgent stabilization of the National Energy System (SEN). We have complete confidence that they will achieve their goals. Our admiration and recognition for all they do.
Despite the enormous technical challenges, the Guiteras team is struggling to keep the plant online, while also preparing to undertake an intervention aimed at restoring its optimal power.