Sections of Lethem last night were in darkness as a result of power rationing after the main generator developed some problems on Sunday.
The nature of the problem was not clear, but according to a resident, the generator malfunctioned on Sunday night and the small generator which does not have the capacity to power the community was pressed into service. The resident said that different sections were receiving power for five hours at a time. However, she said, in St Ignatius, the power had gone off at 8 am yesterday and up to 7 pm; it had not yet been restored.
Lethem has suffered from chronic power problems over the past several years. However, by the end of the year, two new generators should be installed to boost the power supply in the growing border township and a new facility will be constructed to replace the current flood-prone Lethem Power Company office.
The new generators along with the three currently in Lethem will be able to produce over two megawatts of power – way above the current consumption of half megawatt of electricity by the town, President of the Rupununi Chamber of Commerce (RCCI), Daniel Gajie had told Stabroek News. He said that Prime Minister Samuel Hinds made the disclosure in May during a visit to Lethem.
