–GPL tells Parliament committee
The Guyana Power and Light (GPL) says the current tariffs it charges do not meet its cash flow needs and a hike is imminent unless government covers the deficit between the revenue it collects and the sum needed.
These disclosures were made at a meeting between GPL and the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Economic Services yesterday. GPL has already made public four options at its disposal to cushion its financial shortfall which includes a tariff hike, but PNCR-1G MP Winston Murray yesterday struggled to obtain a direct answer on whether the company would be forced to do so. After putting this scenario to a team of GPL representatives and Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Murray was told, “Well, you have said it,” by Hinds, with GPL Chairman Winston Brassington adding, “unless the government provides that funding to us.” Brassington also pointed to the other three options which the company is examining. These are load shedding at peak hours, more cash support from the government and increased conservation. A tariff hike is said to be its last resort.
The GPL team was invited to the meeting to answer a host of questions posed by the Committee and though GPL had provided them with written answers and supporting documents they still entertained questions. The meeting was chaired by PNCR-1G frontbencher Anthony Vieira.
In an overview, Hinds stated that he was proud of the company which is government owned, adding that it was monitoring tariffs at the lowest possible price. He also submitted the GPL Develop-ment and Expansion Pro-gramme document, its five-year plan and the Government of Guyana Strategy for sustaining GPL document to committee members. Hinds then briefed the committee on the company’s needs for additional power generation.
In this regard, the prime minister said that government had fallen behind due to the unavailability of money. “We pursue this on many fronts but we were always constrained by finance and the implied costs in electricity prices,” he said. He pointed to GPL’s plan to build a 20 Megawatt station at Kingston which it hopes would be up and running by May 2009. However, Hinds said the transmission lines would have to be put underground from Kingston to the Sophia Station. The company currently operates equipment using fossil fuel but it is hoping to shift to heavy fuel oil which costs less, until the country’s power generation projects become a reality.
Hydropower
Meanwhile, Hinds told the committee that by year end there will be the ceremonial groundbreaking for the Amaila hydro project which would make some 140MW of power available by 2012. Synergy Holdings Inc, the company in charge of this project earlier this year had said it was making a greater effort to clinch the US$371M for the project. This project has been on the agenda for many years now.
As regard the Skeldon Plant which is also to add power to the national grid, Hinds said the Guyana Sugar Corporation (Guysuco) was concerned about entering into an agreement which may bring higher prices than the current alternative. To this end he said negotiations about the price attached to the arrangement are ongoing. “It has to be worthwhile for Guysuco and not too excessive for GPL,” he said.
Government MP Gail Teixeira during the questions segment asked about the challenges government was facing in its pursuit of hydropower and the possibilities of solar power. In terms of the hydropower, the prime minister said most of the sites are located far inland so getting transmission out will have to be considered. He also pointed out that the terrain was problematic and so would be more costly than in any other area. Hinds said other sites are also being considered for developing hydropower with a view to taking power to Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago.
In the case of solar energy, he noted that some interior health posts utilized this mode of power. Hinds also said that a project is ongoing in the hinterland area where 315 homes are being supplied with power through the solar system under an Inter-American Development Bank Project. As GPL works to reduce losses and to expose staff members who may be involved in scams, Hinds revealed that a new customer information system would be implemented shortly which would allow more checks and the uncovering of any scams. He said the new system would combine both hardware and software.
Meanwhile, on the much touted pre-paid meter service, GPL CEO Bharat Dindyal said that the company is expected to put into use 2000 meters in the last quarter of the year. These meters would be installed in areas which have been found to be at high risk for staff and where they are unable to access meters for readings.
