Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Holguín, September 22. - The Lidio Ramón Pérez Thermoelectric Plant (CTE, for its acronym in Spanish) of Felton, located in the Holguín municipality of Mayarí, is steadily contributing 170 megawatts (MW) today after synchronizing with the National Electric System (SEN) this Sunday.
Eric Milanés Quinzán, general director of the industry, confirmed exclusively to the Cuban News Agency that the unit came online shortly after three in the afternoon following a malfunction in the plant's transformer, which led to an early shutdown for scheduled maintenance lasting 20 days. The main action during this maintenance was the correction of a hydrogen leak in the block’s generator.
He explained that the leak, being located in a relatively easy-to-access area and combined with the experience accumulated in solving a similar failure previously, allowed the repair timeline to be significantly shortened.
He also commented that during these days, they resolved a number of accumulated technical issues, including the inspection of the turbine's axial bearing, cleaning of the steam condenser, and repair of a high-pressure heater.
To restore the plant's efficiency and reliability parameters, he said, a thorough cleaning of the boiler was also carried out, three gaskets in the smoke ducts were replaced, and general maintenance was performed on auxiliary equipment and systems, considered essential to ensuring stable electricity generation.
Specialized forces from the Power Plant Maintenance Company (EMCE, for its acronym in Spanish), workers from the Engineering Construction Company No. 3 (ECI No. 3), personnel from the thermoelectric plant itself, and support brigades from the Nickel Union Services Company in Nicaro (ESUNI, for its acronym in Spanish) participated in the maintenance work.
In this industry, the rehabilitation of block two is planned after the completion of the technical proposal, which offers a new design adapted to burn domestic crude oil in the new boiler.
This turbogenerator was damaged by a fire just as it began the startup process following partial capital maintenance that was expected to incorporate approximately 220 megawatts into the SEN (National Electric Power System) in the summer of 2022.
The Lidio Ramón Pérez CTE, considered among the most efficient in the country, is the power plant with the largest installed capacity in Cuba, and its operation contributes to the stability of the SEN (National Electric Power System) at a time when the country is experiencing a difficult electricity situation. (Text and photo: ACN)
