The Lidio Ramón Pérez Thermoelectric Plant, commonly known as Felton, reconnected with the National Electric System on Friday after being out of operation for over a week. According to information shared by the plant on Facebook, by 11:00 am, the plant was generating 44 MW and was in the process of increasing its load capacity. The process to ignite the boiler began early in the morning.
Felton had been offline since January 30 for scheduled maintenance. Just four days into the maintenance, workers had only managed to clean 5,620 of the more than 22,000 tubes in the condenser, roughly 25% of the total. The maintenance work included servicing the main valves, cleaning the boiler's scoria, air heater cleaning in the boiler and condenser, and inspecting two bearings in the turbine.
When operational, Felton can help reduce power outages by nearly five hours. Despite this positive development, blackouts are expected to persist. The Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Plant in Matanzas delayed its synchronization with the grid, which was also scheduled for Friday. The plant’s general manager, Rubén Campos Olmos, explained that a hydraulic test revealed a defect in the right side wall of the boiler at the third burner level.
"The situation is a bit more complicated because we need to build a scaffold to reach the 20-meter height where the issue is located," Campos Olmos detailed. The synchronization of the Guiteras plant might occur by dawn on Saturday.
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Why was the Felton plant offline?
The Felton plant was offline for scheduled maintenance, which involved cleaning and servicing critical components like the condenser tubes and boiler valves.
What complications did the Antonio Guiteras plant face?
The Antonio Guiteras plant encountered a defect in the boiler's right side wall, which required constructing a scaffold to reach and repair the affected area.