Following Sunday night’s shutdown of the Demerara Berbice Interconnected System, after a Canter crashed into a power pole at Mon Repos, the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) yesterday appealed for caution on the roadways.
In a statement, GPL said the accident occurred around 8.18 pm. The Canter crashed and broke a pole at Mon Repos, which was supporting a primary 69 kv transmission line linking the Demerara and Berbice systems, resulting in a shutdown in both counties.
The affected transmission line was isolated, GPL said, adding that efforts to restore power began around 8.45 pm. However, due to a defective breaker, two further shutdowns were experienced during these attempts.
All areas were repowered by midnight, apart from communities from Enmore to Victoria, which were repowered at 1.16 am, and other East Coast communities to sections of Seafield, West Coast Berbice.
The statement said Berbice regained power around 10 pm, with power being supplied from the Canefield Power Plant, Skeldon and Onverwagt facilities.
GPL added that temporary remedial works to restore the broken pole lasted until 5.30 am yesterday, after which all remaining affected consumers in Demerara and Berbice were fully repowered.
GPL also noted that the shutdown followed one which occurred over a month ago in central Georgetown and it said the reckless use of the roadways has caused structural damage to its property and “major inconveniences” to customers.
“We plead yet again with all road users to exhibit due caution on the roadways,” the statement said.
GPL added that it will replacing the temporary infrastructure at Mon Repos shortly, which will require an outage during the day. The schedule for the outage, which is currently being determined, will be communicated to the public
“Our company extends sincerest appreciation to the dedicated staff and contractors who worked tirelessly to restore electricity to all affected customers and apologises for the inconvenience caused,” GPL said.
Meanwhile, GPL also reported that the No 1 Wartsila Unit and Caterpillar Genset at Anna Regina had experienced some minor mechanical issues over the weekend, resulting in brief alternating outages at Anna Regina. The statement added that the issues were identified and corrected on the Caterpillar set yesterday and this will reduce any further interruptions in the supply of electricity.
A troubleshooting exercise was performed on the Wartsila Unit with further work required during the week, the statement said.
