Dear Editor,
Lethem and its environs have been receiving glorious sunshine for almost a month now. The roads and trails are once again bone dry and dusty and even the unique Rupununi dry season breeze is again blowing frequently. This clearly indicates that the dry season has begun.
However, it seems that our utility company, Lethem Power Company (LPC), is not reading these signs.
During the heart of the rainy season when Lethem experienced its heaviest floods in recent memory and the main access road from Georgetown to Lethem was closed off, LPC made the decision to curtail the 24-hr electricity supply citing difficulty in securing a reliable fuel supply for its generator. The public understood these difficulties and agreed with the company’s decision. It was assumed that as soon as the road became passable that the LPC would have made all efforts to ensure that sufficient fuel was stockpiled and electricity would return to normal.
However, it’s now going on to six weeks since traffic resumed on the GT/Lethem road. Even cars and minibuses are traversing the road, which means that it is passable for all types of vehicles. Yet our electricity supply has not returned to normal. It seems that only the LPC fuel tankers are unable to use the road.
The public would like to know why electricity continues to be curtailed even though the fuel supply should have returned to normal. There are no grounds for the LPC to say that they are unable to get their fuel into Lethem on time.
Who are the authorities in charge of LPC? It is time that they make a pronouncement on why Lethem and its environs continue to receive rationed electricity. Even during the rainy season there was much discontent over the efforts that LPC made to get their fuel into Lethem. Many felt that they did not do enough to alleviate the fuel shortage. Even when things improved marginally and other businesses went the extra mile to provide their service it seemed that LPC was unwilling/unable to do likewise. It took an impromptu street protest for the LPC to hastily get their operations in order immediately after the floods. Should something similar be done before the electricity supply will return to normal?
It is time that something is done to return the electricity supply to normal. Could the Regional Administration or the Minister responsible for energy intervene? The least that can be done is to inform the public as to the exact reason why the electricity supply cannot be returned to normal as yet.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)
