Cuba's largest thermoelectric plant restarts after shutdown due to false signal

MATANZAS, Cuba, Jun 17 (ACN) The Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Plant (CTE), Cuba's largest and most efficient unitary power plant, went offline this morning due to a false protection signal and is preparing to resynchronize at noon.

Roman Perez Castañeda, the plant's technical director, explained exclusively to the Cuban News Agency that the unexpected tripping was related to the regulating valve system in the turbine area, and ruled out any faults that would compromise the return of generation Tuesday.

In recent weeks, we have operated with high water consumption, although measures have been taken to compensate. The goal is to return to the SEN today and extend our online stay until the end of June, when we must go offline for a few days to correct defects that ensure the block's stability during the summer, he commented.
Perez Castañeda specified that the plant's fails occurred Tuesday at 6:00 a.m., when the unit was generating over 220 megawatts.

Amid a tense electricity situation in the Caribbean nation, the Guiteras CTE gains greater importance due to its location in the western part of the island, where the largest loads are concentrated, and its ability to consume domestic crude oil via pipeline, without the need for transportation costs, among other advantages.