The Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc. is expected to increase its reliable capacity by adding 15.68 megawatts to the existing 20.7 megawatt plant at Kingston by August next year, following the inking of a US$18M contract with the Wartsila Company.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bharrat Dindyal speaking to the Government Information Agency at the company’s Duke Street office said that the signing of the contract which is valued at approximately US$18M marks the conclusion of negotiations between the two companies.
“We have agreed that the plant will be completed and handed over to GPL at the end of August 2011,” the CEO is quoted as saying in a GINA release yesterday.
The announcement of a contract came as a surprise as it was only on October 27, 2010 that President Bharrat Jagdeo announced at the GLU delegates’ conference that US$20M more would have to be spent on additional generating capacity. Since then there has been no known invitation to potential suppliers to bid for the supply of the generators. The GINA press release did not provide any information on this and the media was also not invited to attend yesterday’s ceremony.
Last year December, the public had been reassured that there would be no need for any more generators after the power company installed three Wartsila units at the Kingston power station.
Regarding the benefits to be derived from this project, Dindyal said, “We are increasing our reliable generation capacity by a further 15.6 megawatts, currently we have an overall capacity of about 88 megawatts but only 64.7 of that is reliable capacity in Demerara. With an increase in the reliable capacity, we are further strengthening our position to improve the quality and reliability of supply.”
According to GINA, the intention is to link the West Demerara area to Kingston via a cable.
The relationship between GPL and Wartsila dates back to 1992 with the first such plant at Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara. To date the company has installed 68.7 megawatts of Wartsila capacity, which continues to perform extremely well, GINA stated. Dindyal said, “We have a very good and extensive track record and we expect that this relationship will grow as we continue to rely on Wartsila engines for our Demerara system.” Meanwhile, Vice-President, Wartsila Caribbean Inc., Rodney George assured that notwithstanding the challenges in the project in terms of delivery, they will be working diligently to meet the August 31, 2011 deadline.
At present, there is one link between the Garden of Eden power station and Versailles, but the limited capacity has been hindering this process.
In December 2009, GPL installed three Wartsila units at the Kingston power station.
