Matanzas registers daily damage to transformers while replacement equipment is scarce

Alejandro Rodríguez Azpeitía, head of the provincial electricity company in Matanzas, pointed out that portable power stations contribute to transformer breakdowns in the province. The official also mentioned the effects of the storms and stated that between three and four pieces of equipment are damaged a day, in a scenario where replacement faces difficulties. According to his explanation, a charging station consumes about 1,200 W for about 40 minutes, the time it takes to recharge after a power outage.

Rodríguez Azpeitía said that the simultaneous connection of these devices in ten homes in the same neighborhood can add 12 kW to a transformer with a capacity of 50 kW. The official calculated that this demand is equivalent to almost 20% of the load planned for the equipment and related it to a greater risk of breakdown when the service returns. He also explained that the concentration of consumption occurs because residents take advantage of the restoration to cook, wash, cool food and charge their appliances.

In some areas of Matanzas, the outages can last for more than 24 hours, according to the provincial director, which concentrates several electrical activities at the time of supply. The use of portable stations is thus added to a network that already has equipment out of service, although the official did not present them as the only cause of the damage.

The breakdowns reach 5,687 customers and are linked to more than 15,000 people, the official said when describing the extent of the damaged equipment. Among the pending cases is a transformer that has been damaged since July 23, which supplied 70 homes in a hamlet located before the industrial zone of Matanzas. Other equipment is expected to be replaced since August 3, according to data presented by the provincial director of the Matanzas electricity company.

Local manufacturing is also facing a lack of dielectric oil, an input that Rodríguez Azpeitía identified as the reason why the plant has been practically stopped for about 15 days. The official said that oil was expected to be received to resume production, while the province was still without new equipment, according to one of his statements. In another intervention, he explained that 16 transformers had been received and that their assignment prioritized the areas with the most affected homes, including areas served by equipment that supplied 50 homes.

In view of the shortage, the company announced that it will place 12 disconnectors to free up 19 MW currently intended to protect hospital circuits and distribute that energy among other sectors of the grid. The measure was presented as a way to reduce the effects on other circuits and maintain the supply to hospitals, according to the official's explanation. The announcement proposes a redistribution of available energy while breakdowns and delays in the replacement of transformers persist in Matanzas.