Dear Editor,
For over a week now the residents of Bartica have been experiencing erratic electrical power from GPL.
Approximately one year ago in June of 2014 we had the same problem. We were treated then as we are now with total contempt by GPL with no official word about what the problem is and the expected time frame for it to be resolved.
Last year June after three weeks of load-shedding and eighteen hours of total shut-down the people took to the streets and picketed the company to force an official response. People were and still are clamouring to have the three old generators replaced with new generators.
We Barticians have observed that when the Essequibo coast had a similar problem the previous government immediately acquired a new generator to alleviate it. What is of great concern to us is that for the last ten years Bartica and Region 7 have contributed more than most of the other regions to the GDP growth of this country, yet we still have bad roads, three dead generators, a run-down hospital and an unreliable water system.
We are cognizant that our new government is now evaluating the state of the economy and would not be able to address all of the region’s needs immediately. However, we are imploring the new government to look at state of GPL in Bartica as a priority.
Over the last ten years we have had load-shedding from GPL every December; moreover we experienced the uncaring attitude of the GPL CEO Mr Bharrat Dindyal last year when he angered the protesters by stating that the Chinese taxpayers were responsible for the viability of the Bartica power station, and the funds generated by that station cannot even cover the cost of fuel.
Barticians have embraced the theme ‘It is time.’ Yes, Editor, it is indeed time for a better generator at the Bartica power station; it is time for the leadership of GPL to be more customer oriented and immediately improve on their customer service. It is time for GPL to begin investigating not only when the stealing of electricity is reported, but when people report that their bill has gone up by 100% for no apparent reason. For instance, an associate of mine wrote GPL about his bill increasing by 100% since 2009. We are in 2015 and GPL does not have the common decency and courtesy to respond to his letter or commence an investigation. GPL’s attitude is, don’t pay and get disconnected.
It is the norm for utility companies to keep their customers informed about when there is a disruption in service; it makes good business sense, and moreso it is also the right thing to do since consumers are the ones that companies depend on to make their profits. We have had load-shedding for over a week now and we are still awaiting an official word from GPL.
Perhaps Mr Dindyal was right when he said that the Chinese taxpayers were responsible for the viability of the Bartica power station. I trust that he would have informed the Chinese about our problem.
Editor, what I am certain of is if the salaries of GPL’s senior officials were linked to the company’s performance we would have had better service.
Yours faithfully,
Ignatius Prowell
