Among the difficult circumstances that we face on a daily basis, without a doubt, the impact on the electrical service is one of those that bothers us the most and affects different orders: household chores, the development of the working day, productions, the services... and what to say about how much it affects each family, right now, in the middle of the vacation period.
Beyond the existence of a schedule of affectations due to generation deficit, what is planned does not always coincide with reality, and as much as people also try to plan according to these schedules, there are not a few failed attempts. In this regard, many comments are generated in dissimilar spaces.
On the subject we spoke with Martín de la Concepción Cordero, director of the Empresa Eléctrica de Artemisa. “In the province we have three blocks of 50 megawatts (MW); it was determined to rotate them over the course of 24 hours, and not affect more than four continuous hours. The design is conceived to turn off each block eight hours a day; however, there are times that this time is exceeded, as a result of breakdowns, or critical situations in the system.
“It is important to know that a block of 50 MW is not the same during peak hours as outside of peak hours, that is, the same number of circuits at said hours can reach 50 MW and not reach 25 at dawn, that is why The situation has arisen where they ask us to disconnect 50 MW at dawn, and the planned block is not enough”.
The situations presented vary: sometimes the blackout exceeds four hours, and others, it does not cover them, why does this happen? “First, it is valid to clarify that when the national office directs the disconnection of a certain amount of MW, it is an inviolable order; if we delay in doing so, we compromise the National Electroenergetic System (SEN) ”, he explains.
“It must be executed immediately, even if we do another manipulation later, but the dispatcher must make the decision to turn off a circuit… You release a manual load to the SEN or it begins to lower the frequency and begins to do it automatically, that is why it is necessary to comply as quickly as possible each assignment possible.
“There are circuits that are disconnected based on an order -which can be carried out by means of a computer, as they are modern substations-, and the operators take seconds to open them. Those are the biggest and, in general, the ones that need to be turned off quickly, because they are the ones that, within the block, allow compliance with the indication of the national office in the face of a specific problem. While, in the rest of the circuits, the car must go and do the manipulation.
“That is why there are some that turn off exactly at the scheduled time and others that, if it was planned at 8:00 p.m., half an hour passes, for example, and it has not been possible to do so.
“What is clear is that we cannot connect a circuit without having disconnected another; You can't replace everything, and then begin to open circuits, it is necessary to create a balance because otherwise we will damage the electrical system. These are jobs that are not done instantly, that is why sometimes the scheduled time is exceeded.
“Now, at certain times the blackout does not last four hours. If the system shows an improvement, and the national dispatch assures that it will stay that way, the dispatcher, within the block, rotates the circuit before four hours, and we close it earlier than planned”.
Another concern is how maintenance is projected, taking into account the blackout program. “If you add to a circuit, beyond the hours of blackouts or deficit, an interruption or a free path of x hours, a complex situation is created. What do we do? We try to frame ourselves in the four hours of the planned affectation so as not to cause an additional one to the town.
The manager adds that “blackouts also cause damage to the network and to the equipment. We had never reached the number of transformers damaged by overload, which we have had this year”.
In this sense, it specifies that "when a circuit is disconnected for four hours, especially when the connection is made during peak hours (8:00 p.m. in this case), in each home they are in charge of doing what had not been possible until moment, and there is an overload to networks and equipment, circuits are constantly triggered and transformers are damaged, the same as those of substations (four this year, for that reason).
Lastly, he highlights how relevant it is “to work on the basis of an information system. We recently created a channel on Telegram (https://t.me/EEArtemisa), which anyone who wishes can join, and stay updated on what happens, also, through that channel. The situation has become more difficult; it is necessary to increase the interaction with the people and manage to reach them with timely information”.
Taken from artemisadiario
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