It was too important to be left to chance so future hotelier Daniel Gajie did what any pragmatic businessman would do and sought an alternative.
“I can’t make any excuses when my hotel is built,” he said. Gajie’s 40-room hotel with an additional six suites – now in the final stages of construction – will be the biggest in Lethem and is one of the largest investments in the rapidly growing town close to the border with Brazil in Region Nine. It is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year and open in February in time for the Rupununi Rodeo – one of the biggest events in the Region.
But over the last several years as the community rapidly expanded, businesspersons have faced an intractable problem: electricity. It comes and goes, on and off, an unstable power supply for days and sometimes weeks. Most businesses have purchased back-up generators but mainly depend on the Lethem Power Company for electricity since their small generators cannot be operated all the time and the cost of fuel in the remote town is high.
The latest in a string of power failures occurred two weeks ago after a part broke on one of the generators, and for three days the community experienced prolonged power outages with electricity being rationed and provided on a rotating basis to different sections for six hours daily. The main generating set failed about two months ago and since then the growing town has been powered by two smaller generators, but the community experienced constant blackouts since the generators could not cope with the demand. 24-hour electricity is a dream for residents and it has been this way for several years.
The power woes have seen businesses suffering losses and could deter future investments, said president of the Rupununi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) Jacqueline D’Aguiar. She said that now the community is back to the “normal” 18 hours of electricity per day, but stressed that the issue needs to be resolved.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, according to Regional Chairman Wilson Lorentino, told residents at a recent meeting in the town that a generator would be purchased but it would take about three to four months to bring it into the country.
“We need at least two but preferably three new generators of a larger capacity,” Gajie said. He pointed to the furious pace of construction in the town in the housing area as well as businesses and said that this would put increasing demand on the grid as residents and businesses add new equipment.
Apart from his hotel, two other large stores are due to open for the Christmas season and at the moment, he is doubtful that the power company will be able to supply them, Gajie said. He said that he took the decision to purchase his 150Kv generator because in the current circumstances, the power company will not be able to supply his hotel. “The company cannot match the demands with what is happening,” he said. “We’re very, very concerned about it.”
Gajie said that the defunct Moco-Moco hydroelectricity plant, which has been out of operation for over nine years, could be resuscitated but despite a proposal from a Brazilian company, they have heard no word from the government. He said that NICIL had invited proposals and the company had submitted one but got no feedback. He said that had the proposal been accepted, the plant could have been rehabilitated at no cost to the government and now be supplying 50% of the needs of the town. Gajie said that at least four groups including the Chinese conducted studies on whether the plant could be rehabilitated and all concluded that it is possible but gave varying costs.
The businessman said that the Brazilian company would have made use of new technology. “We are not hearing anything from the government,” he said. Gajie added that it was “a bit unfortunate” and stated that the current situation could have been avoided.
Hinds, after being asked about this at a meeting in Lethem in August reportedly told residents that it would take between $80 million to $100 million to renovate.
Meantime, D’Aguiar said that the hydroelectric plant has been vandalized and “everything is a shell now.” She added that Moco-Moco village is starting up a tourism project and the plant is one of the destinations.
The business chamber head stressed the need for a long-term plan for electricity given the rapid growth of the town. “There has been a lot of people coming,” she said. She said that electricity is one of the issues that would be examined by investors and the situation in Lethem could discourage investment.
The RCCI president also pointed out that the water supply in Lethem is dependent on the electricity. Gajie said too that tourists have been passing through and water and street lights have to be looked at but both are dependent on electricity.
“We can’t accept the present situation,” Gajie said. He said that some amount of negligence caused the new generator to fail and government cannot be blamed because it provides money to purchase fuel. The problem lies with the management and operations of the power company, he said.
“We’re pleading, unfortunately people are not listening,” Gajie added. He said that about $3 billion has been invested in Lethem over the last five years which has resulted in jobs for over 300 persons. However, the electricity situation could deter investors, he stressed. “We’re actually hanging on a thread.”
