Two communities in Port Kaituma were without electricity up to yesterday after a large generator used to supply power stopped working when the power company ran out of filters.
Richard Allen, Director of the Power Company’s Board, said the Main Road and Citrus Grove communities have been affected since Monday. He added that filters arrived in Port Kaituma yesterday and the situation is expected to be resolved today.
This newspaper was told that the fuel supply for the power company is also a challenge.
Allen also said on a daily basis the power company receives six barrels of fuel at a time. This, he said, is not enough to ensure a 24-hour supply and officials are forced to timetable generation from 7am to 3pm and from 7pm to 4am daily.
But Chairperson of the power company Margaret Lambert denied this claim and said that six barrels of fuel cannot be finished in a few hours. She added that during instances when there is only one generator operating, the power company cuts off the generator for a few hours to ensure it is not overworked.
She could not say whether power was actually out in the two communities since she was in Georgetown at the time she spoke with this newspaper. She added that the power company plans to hold a general meeting to sensitise Port Kaituma residents about what is really going on.
Allen had also said Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, while addressing Sydney Allicock’s petition on electricity tariffs in Lethem, has said that consumers at Port Kaituma receive 15 kilowatt hours (KWH) of electricity free like Lethem. He said that this is not the case in Port Kaituma and called for the Prime Minister to retract his statement.
When Stabroek News spoke to the Prime Minister on Saturday, he said he would look into Allen’s claim.
Lambert however, said yesterday that the free 15Khw was only given to residents for one month when the power company was handed over to Port Kaituma by the government. She said at present the initial offering of 15 Kwh free is not applicable to Port Kaituma.
