The Essequibo Coast is once again being plagued by frequent blackouts, which have caused enormous losses for business owners and have disrupted the daily lives of residents.
Communities from Charity to Supenaam have been plagued by the blackouts, which last up to six hours. Electricity is supplied to villages from Charity to Devonshire Castle from 7pm to 12pm, while villages from Hampton Court to Supenaam are supplied power from 12pm to 6am.
Stabroek News was told that the outages are due to the Number 1 generator, located at Anna Regina, not functioning. However, when Stabroek News tried to make contact with the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) Essequibo Branch, all the lines were down and when contact was made with the Power House, this newspaper was told that as a result of the blackout, the manager could not be reached on his telephone line.
“I am fed up with these blackouts. We on the Essequibo Coast are paying our bills but still we cannot get electricity. When the current do come on, we have to be hustling to do everything. This is costing us a lot because school start now and nothing can’t get to freeze for the children to take to school,” a resident of Three Friends complained.
Earlier this month, Chairman of Region Two Parmanand Persaud noted that a new Wartsila unit was expected to be installed at the Power House at Anna Regina and the frequent power outages were expected to be rectified.
“Because of the blackout, we can’t get any pipe water and it’s really hard because the rain is not falling and our tanks are almost empty. For the past four days, I have to be walking to go to a canal to get water for washing and bathing and I usually have to disturb my children from their rest in order for them to get water to bathe early in the morning.
I really hope that whatever is affecting us from getting electricity can be looked after soon,” a woman who lives in Charity said.