‘We cannot effectively disconnect because everyone is feeding on each other. This problem has grown into a monster’
Police yesterday issued a warning to residents of West Ruimveldt who burnt tyres and blocked traffic on Thursday after GPL cut their electricity supply over allegations of power theft and the situation was still tense yesterday.
And the power company’s Director of Commercial Services, Kesh Nandlall said yesterday that the majority of residents in this area are utilizing power without paying.
Yesterday afternoon the residents once again took to the streets and started two fires on Mandela Avenue and Cactus Street vowing not to stop until electricity is restored to their homes. The fires were quickly extinguished.
Nandlall told Stabroek News that the security of the company’s crews is their main concern and that they want to reconnect those legitimate customers.
He explained that on Thursday morning several crews went into the area to reconnect those who have paid but they were attacked and they decided not to go back in the afternoon after finding out that the situation had gotten worse.
He said that the company is working to find a way to resolve this problem and this would mean the reconstruction of the network.
Nandlall said that one out of ten persons on a range are paying for the electricity while the others are feeding off them and not paying. He said that the losses in the area are very high and the company needs to take drastic action to correct that.
According to him, two hundred and sixty-seven households in the area owe about $80M and arrears are over $50, 000 in each case. In all, that area owes GPL about $120M, he stressed.
“We cannot effectively disconnect because everyone is feeding on each other. This problem has grown into a monster”, he said.
Asked about the legitimate customers, he said that GPL has every intention of connecting them back to the network but this is being hampered due to the attacks on the crews.
He assured this newspaper that they have every intention of cleaning up the network and reconnecting those legitimate customers.
In a meeting with GPL officials late yesterday the affected consumers voiced their concerns over the situation. Nandlall told this newspaper shortly after the meeting had ended that it was the customers who are paying who turned up. He said the customers in arrears can call the company on 227-3723 and someone will be able to speak to them about paying their arrears. He said that the company is prepared to work with the residents and arrangements will be made to have crews in the area reconnect the legitimate customers.
He said that those at the meeting understand the challenges that the company faces and they suggested that everybody be reconnected since not being connected could lead to a bigger problem.
Police in a statement yesterday afternoon said that the conduct of the residents “is not in keeping with the norms of society and will not be tolerated. Those aggrieved by disconnection have other recourses other than blocking roads and burning tyres”.
The police also warned that if the residents continue with such behaviour they will be met with the full force of the law.
Recouping
arrears
Meanwhile a press release from the power company said that the campaign to recoup more than $6 billion in arrears has been intensified.
The campaign gained momentum nearly two weeks ago when special disconnection teams visited East Berbice and West Demerara. The teams are still working in that area. Simultaneously another crew was sent to West Ruimveldt on Wednesday to conduct a similar exercise, the release said.
“West Ruimveldt is unique in that the configuration of the network made it relatively easy for the residents to utilize power without paying for it. It was also difficult for GPL to disconnect without inconveniencing the company’s legitimate customers”.
Last Friday, GPL’s management had said that the company has metered all its main feeders and it is now able to detect all the areas with high outstanding balances against the amount of electricity consumed.
All research and information compiled about West Ruimveldt concluded that more than 85% of the residents were receiving power and not paying for it, the release said.
It was also revealed that hundreds of accounts in West Ruimveldt had run into arrears over $100,000 and some into more than $1M and many of those services had been disconnected previously but the configuration allowed the residents to reconnect easily.
Further, the release said that this area had been earmarked previously for a network upgrading which is now going to be fast-tracked.
The legitimate customers, which is a small amount, as well as those who have since approached the power company to clear their outstanding balances going back years or made arrangements to pay, will be connected to this new network.
In addition, in the past two months, the power company said that it found itself in more “penurious circumstances”.
“The prices for diesel fuel on the international market have unexpectedly broken the US$100 barrel marker. The cost per barrel has risen to US$102 up from US$70 five months ago and it continues to spiral, eating further into the company’s available revenue”, the release stressed.
Because of this situation the company “has been forced to go out with a more aggressive strategy to recoup the monies outstanding in unpaid bills and for power consumed illegally”.
GPL is now working in Berbice and in areas in East and West Demerara, the places where the largest amount of outstanding arrears has been recorded. The campaign will spread out to other wards in and around Georgetown, to the East Coast and West Berbice, the release said.
Protest continued
In keeping with their promise, not to stop protesting until electricity is restored to the area, residents yesterday set fires on two major roadways in West Ruimveldt – Mandela Avenue and Cactus Street.
However the fire department responded promptly and managed to put out the blazes. When Stabroek News arrived on the scene the burnt material was being shovelled off of Mandela Avenue and traffic stalled for a while.
As residents crowded the area, heavily armed policemen dressed in khaki and navy blue uniforms stood guard.
A young man attempting to walk into Cactus Street was the victim of assault at the hands of two policemen who wanted to prevent him from walking on the street although other persons were doing so. They chucked the young man who began arguing with them and they then attempted to arrest him. They then turned their attention to a man who was videotaping the episode. He was later arrested and placed in a police vehicle which left the scene about five minutes later. The other man who was being prevented from walking on that road was allowed to go after a police officer dressed in a khaki uniform intervened.
Residents told Stabroek News that they will not stop the protest because what was done to them was wrong. Up to when this newspaper left the scene just after 5 pm, the area was still without electricity and there was a heavy police presence.
On Thursday afternoon the area erupted into chaos when residents blocked roads and burnt tyres. Police came out in their numbers to try to control the situation but residents still continued to block roadways with debris. Tyres, dry grass, newspapers and kerosene were used to start a blaze on Mandela Avenue sending pockets of thick smoke billowing into the air. After several minutes, members of the Guyana Fire Service were able to put it out.
Close to 500 households in West Ruimveldt between Sunflower and Cactus streets are without electricity as a result of the disconnection which occurred when fuses from a transformer that supply that area were removed.
Law enforcement authorities managed to bring the situation under
control but several hours later the unrest started again. Around 8 pm fires were lit and roads were blocked as the residents continued to call for justice and the immediate restoration of lights to the area.
