Dear Editor,
Essequibians are in total darkness once again as the two Wartsila generation plants went down for the second time in two weeks, crippling businesses and banks; damaging electrical appliances; spoiling restaurant meat, fish, greens and vegetables, etc; and shutting down all the manufacturing sectors, including the two mortuaries at Charity and Suddie. On Tuesday, December 10, the entire region from Charity to Supenaam was shutdown at midnight and remained that way throughout the entire day until 10pm at night, when the current came back on. Then it went off again at 4am on Wednesday, taking its toll on another day, causing panic.
Many of the productive assets in this region are idle owing to the prolonged blackouts, while the two Wartsila generation plants continue to operate below capacity and are inefficient. For the past years these plants have been producing electricity well below the capacity needed to sustain the region. When the Wartsila power plant goes down, the pure water supply system malfunctions or operates inefficiently, causing hardship to the residents who then have to fetch water for miles.
The reality is rough times are ahead for Essequibians during this Christmas season and beyond. These constant blackouts breed more insecurity for the people and the business sector. While this scenario is still evolving, it would appear that the government has no solution to the inefficiency and maintenance of these power plants or the failure to correct some minor fault. The government takes for granted the role the energy producing region has in national security.
The utility has an obligation to the residents of this region and it should take action now and provide a more efficient power service. If not, future generations will face the same consequences of GPL apathy. This region impacts all government does as an energy provider. With so much attention being paid to government energy policy, it may come as a surprise that the majority of our nation’s energy supply is not reaching the consumers because of constant failures.
Frequent damage to the Wartsila power plants at the Anna Regina power station, now pose a real threat to the future of our energy stability. Government will have to hire skilled engineers to protect and rebuild these delicate and vital power plants. Without a reliable electricity supply, there can be no energy to carry the region’s commerce. The problems of Essequibo’s constant blackouts must be examined as a whole by government, not individually.
Yours faithfully,
Mohamed Khan
