The  Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) has reported that a major mechanical failure at the No. 4 Mirrlees generating set at Canefield last Saturday was responsible for widespread load shedding in  the East Berbice area.

In a statement on Thursday, GPL explained that it was able to utilise the three Wartsila generators at Skeldon to restore some level of normalcy for its customers in Berbice, until Sunday afternoon, when the new 69KV transmission link to Skeldon was commissioned. GPL is assuring consumers that every effort would be made to maintain a normal supply of electricity but in the absence of any generation reserves, periods of load shedding can be expected.

However, the company will notify consumers of planned outages, the statement added.

In the absence of the No. 4 Mirrlees, two Caterpillar power modules with a total capacity of 3MW were dispatched to Canefield and both units were expected to be online yesterday. With the addition of the 3MW, the statement said, the total capacity in Berbice will be 17MW, which will be adequate to meet the peak demand of 15.5MW.

Meanwhile, GPL’s technicians are working to complete the rebuilding of the 5MW No.3 Mirrlees unit at Canefield by the end of this month.  The power company also disclosed that it is working to return the 2.5MW No. 7 EMD at Onverwagt to service by the second week of April.